By Julian Linden
SYDNEY, Jan 15 - Roger Federer has done
everything necessary to etch his name in the annals of tennis
immortality and all that remains for the Swiss world number one
is to add more grand slams to his remarkable tally of 15.
Last season, Federer ticked the two remaining boxes on his
career checklist when he won the French Open for the first time
before breaking Pete Sampras's record of grand slam men's
singles titles.
His biggest challenge now is to maintain his motivation and
while Federer insists he remains as keen as ever, the
Australian Open could provide the first real glimpse into what
lies ahead for his opponents.
Federer has already won the Australian Open three times but
is less dominant on the Melbourne Park synthetic hard courts
than he is at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
By his own lofty standards, his early season form has been
patchy. He was beaten by Swede Robin Soderling, for the first
time, in Abu Dhabi then lost to Russia's Nikolay Davydenko in
another warm-up event in Qatar.
He then turned down the chance to play in the Kooyong
Classic, an eight-man exhibition in Melbourne that he had used
to fine-tune his preparations each time he won the Australian
Open.
NADAL LOOMS
Despite his uncertain buildup, Federer remains the
pre-tournament favourite. After all, he has made the final of
17 of the last 18 grand slams, dating back to Wimbledon in
2005.
However, he was beaten in last year's Australian Open final
by Rafa Nadal in a five-set classic and the Spaniard once again
looms as his biggest obstacle.
Nadal was on top of the world 12 months ago. He had beaten
Federer in the finals at the French Open and Wimbledon in 2008
to spirit away the number one ranking then reduced the Swiss to
tears by beating him at Melbourne Park.
But in the blink of eye, the aggressive left-hander
plummeted back down to earth from his lofty perch when his
knees began to buckle and the injuries started to mount up. He
took a break from the game and has not won any title since May.
There were some encouraging signs when the world number two
helped Spain win the Davis Cup last month then made last week's
final in Qatar to give himself a confidence lift.
"I am never going to say that I am going to win it... (but)
I am playing well enough to have a positive result. And I am
happy," he said.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open in 2008 to
emerge as the most likely challenger to the Federer-Nadal
duopoly but has failed to reach any grand slam final since.
His Australian Open defence ended in the most disappointing
fashion when he quit his quarter-final with Andy Roddick,
complaining that he was exhausted by the heat, but he has vowed
to make amends this time.
"This year is quite different and I just hope it won't
finish that way," the third seed said.
A new challenger emerged last year in the shape of Juan
Martin del Potro, the giant Argentine who won the U.S. Open,
beating Federer in the final.
DEL POTRO READY
The 21-year-old has been steadily improving over the past
two seasons but his breakthrough win in New York was proof he
is ready to mix it with the best and given him the confidence
to set his sights even higher.
"When I go to the court with Roger, Rafa, I don't feel too
much different," he said.
"That's important for the career, for the future, and of
course if I want to fight for the number one."
The only other player in the top 10 who has won a grand
slam is the American Andy Roddick, who won the U.S. Open in
2003, but has lost all four finals he has played since,
including Wimbledon last year.
Roddick won the Australian Open junior title in 2000 and
has been a semi-finalist in the senior event on four occasions
but goes into Melbourne in great form after winning last week's
Brisbane International.
Andy Murray will again carry the weight of expectation of a
British public starved of grand slam success. The Scotsman was
one of the favourites to win the Australian Open last year but
crashed out in the fourth round.
He did reach the U.S. Open final in 2008 and his early season
form has been impressive, giving him renewed hope he can join
the grand slam winners club.
"I think I'm ready to win it," Murray said. "I just need to
play well, if I do that then there's no reason why I can't."
(Editing by John O'Brien. To query or comment on this story
email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)