Roger Federer doesn’t need to remember all the details of a recent winning streak that includes 21 consecutive match wins and a 14-0 record in his most recent trips to finals.
”I am aware of the [statistics] because I get reminded all the time,” said Federer, who will start this week’s Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament as favourite after finishing 2004 at number one and opening this season with a win at Qatar.
”It’s nice to have them but it’s not the most important thing,” he said.
Someone else who will not need reminding is French Open champion Gaston Gaudio, Federer’s first opponent when the annual Australian Open tune-up starts on Wednesday.
Argentina’s Gaudio had his best clay-court season in 2004 but struggled for a 5-10 record on hard courts, failing to win back-to-back matches on the surface.
Next week’s Australian Open will be played on hard courts at Melbourne Park, making the Kooyong tournament across town an ideal warm-up in the same conditions.
With six top 10 players in the eight-man draw, the 2005 Kooyong field is probably its strongest to date.
Second-ranked Andy Roddick will open against Thailand’s Paradorn Srichaphan, who lost in the Chennai final to Carlos Moya in India on the weekend, while eight-time Grand Slam winner Andre Agassi faces Olympic gold medallist Nicolas Massu of Chile.
Defending champion David Nalbandian opens against seventh-ranked Tim Henman, who is seeded third.
The world’s top two ranked players are in Melbourne with new coaching set-ups.
Federer has hired Australia’s former Davis Cup coach Tony Roche on a part-time basis and Roddick split with Brad Gilbert after an 18-month partnership that yielded his first Grand Slam title and number-one ranking at the end of 2003.
Roddick is working with United States Davis Cup assistant coach Dean Goldfine.
”I felt like it had run its course,” Roddick said of his decision last month to part with Gilbert.
”I’ve had a great training period with Dean, felt better than I have in a long time,” he added. ”I’m happy with the team around me now. I feel very optimistic for 2005 — I’m excited.”
Federer didn’t have a coach in 2004, when he won 11 titles including three majors and became number one.
Despite all the success, having some input from a coach will help, Federer said.
The 23-year-old Swiss star spent two weeks training with Roche in Sydney in December and said he is happy to let the arrangement develop over time.
”I don’t really have a plan for this whole thing. He’ll be around me for a few weeks this year,” he said. ”I thought about having a coach for a long time but I wanted to take my time.
”I hope he can improve my game just a little bit. I like the way I’m playing right now. If he can improve just a few things in my game, that will be good.”
Coming into a season with an unbeaten run stretching back to the Athens Olympics in August was a good thing, said Federer, who wasn’t thinking that a loss had to be on the horizon.
”I’d prefer to be playing well coming into the Australian Open. I had a great 2004 and a good start to 2005, so I’m very happy with that,” he said. ”I feel good. It’s a good place for me.” — Sapa-AP