Roger Federer is desperate to clinch a third successive Wimbledon title to erase the misery of his 2005 Grand Slam flops at the Australian and French Opens.
The top seed has captured seven titles this year and has lost just three times in 57 matches. But still the 23-year-old is not satisfied.
His defeat to Marat Safin in the semifinal at the Australian Open, where he had been defending champion, and his French Open semifinal defeat to Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal are setbacks which burn deep.
Victory in next Sunday’s final at the Swiss star’s favourite Grand Slam tournament will wipe away the disappointments of Melbourne and Paris.
”For me only a win here would be satisfying this year with the misses I have had at the French and Australian Opens,” said Federer.
”I could walk away easier if I played well or my opponent played out of his head, but I would still be disappointed.”
Federer squandered a match point in his loss to Safin while Nadal brilliantly denied him the only Grand Slam title to have so far eluded him in Paris.
”I’m happy to be in the second week here, that was definitely my goal at the beginning of the tournament. Now there are just four matches left.
”The pressure’s there but I feel it’s a special year going for three in a row. I’ll stay focused on what I have to do but the opponents are not getting any easier.”
Next in line for Federer is the hugely experienced Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero over whom he has a 5-3 career record.
If he gets through that, it will be a quarterfinal clash against either Fernando Gonzalez or Mikhail Youzhny with the possibilty of an epic semifinal confrontation against Australian third seed Lleyton Hewitt, the 2002 champion.
He’s seeded to face America’s Andy Roddick in the final, the man he beat 12 months ago to win his second title.
Federer is on a 32-match winning streak on grass with his last defeat on the surface coming in the first round here in 2002 at the hands of Mario Ancic, a potential alternative semifinal opponent this time round should Hewitt fluff his lines.
Federer insists whoever blocks his path to the final has to be respected if not feared. ”I have beaten them all, I’ve lost to them all,” he said. ”They are all very consistent.”
Federer needed four sets to see off Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer in the third round while Roddick struggled to see off Italian qualifier Daniele Bracciali in the second round before a more convincing straight sets win over Igor Andreev gave him a place in the last 16.
”I’m playing this year for this year,” said Roddick who took the first set off Federer in the 2004 final before the Swiss ace stormed to glory in four.
”It’s always good if you have experienced something before so if you get back in that situation it’s not a total suprise for you.
You know what to expect a little more.”
Roddick faces Guillermo Coria for a place in the last eight; the American will be favourite holding a 4-0 career record over the Argentinian. – Sapa-AFP