Swiss ace plays down his chances at Australian Open; reckons Nadal or Djokovic might end up as champions
Roger Federer
Roger Federer reckons at 36, he should not be favourite to win the Australian Open. Yet making a case for any other man in the draw is almost impossible. Rafael Nadal in particular could play himself into that role but he has not contested a match since November because of knee troubles while the fitness of Novak Djokovic is even more uncertain.
Rafael Nadal
Federer returned from his own injury hiatus 12 months ago to win his 18th Grand Slam title. Talking about his expectations, Federer said: "It's totally different. This year I hope to win the first few rounds and get rolling hopefully, whereas last year I was just hoping to win (a match). It was more of a 'let's see what happens' kind of tournament, maybe similar to what Novak or Stan (Wawrinka) or others are going through this year.
Novak Djokovic
"If you're in the draw, you give yourself a chance. That's what happened for me last year. And it ended up way better than I thought it would. It was the tournament of the year for me, no doubt about it. Having no expectations was so nice after all these years always having expectations, like now this year again. "With age I feel like I play down my chances just because I don't think a 36-year-old should be a favourite of a tournament. I feel like maybe somebody like a Rafa, with the year that he's had, and Novak, with the six titles he's had here, even if it's unknown how he's feeling, they could very well be the favourites, too." Federer will open his campaign tomorrow against former British player Aljaz Bedene, now back representing Slovenia.
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here
Download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
