Swiss sensation Roger Federer will be on his way to glory when ensures his participation in the first grand slam of the year by playing in Australian Open. Aiming to win the title for a fifth time in his scintillating career, it is expected that Federer will fire all cylinders to leave no stone unturned. Perhaps, this will be the 53rd grand slam appearance for his for which he must be proud of his achievement. The 31-year-old veteran player has even gone through the motivation test successfully on Saturday.
Amidst rising speculations about his retirement, Federer must be truly relieved after the rest he has taken to fully prepare himself for the big game. Exhaustive practice sessions too must not have affected the fitness of the Swiss player ensuring that he is back to top form. Meanwhile, fans all over the world are raring to watch Federer play his natural game by winning a title again.
This is the exact reason why he has not participated in any of the other sporting events seriously this year as of now including Sydney International. Having been nicknamed as FedEx, the sole concentration of this master is on the Australian Open 2013. Probably, this year might turn out to be lucky for him with many other events to follow.
"I think it's always a bit of a test for me going into the practice season," the 17-times grand slam champion informed reporters who were participating in a press conference at Melbourne Park. Will Federer be able to win another grand slam? Can the FedEx give a fitting reply to the tougher challenges being posed by new crop of players? All these questions could be answered only when the grand slam event begins.
"Am I hungry and motivated to wake up, go on the practice courts for hours?" he told reporters at Melbourne Park, before confirming it was all systems go.
Federer plays the role of a doting dad as well after he became a proud father in the year 2009. Shifting his focus from the game and concentrating back was something more or less like two timing the most important events of his life.
"There was not one problem. For me, that was good news. I was eager to improve my game, change it up a bit from all the tournaments I played this last few years.
Such is the mastery of this player who is one of the greatest players the game has ever witnessed that he is third line to appear for most number of grand slams in the entire career. Federer is now just behind South Africa's Wayne Ferreira (56) and Swede Stefan Edberg (54) for the most consecutive grand slam appearances.
"To go on the practice court and try to improve my game there. I also go into the gym and get stronger again. I enjoyed it. As long as that's the case, that means I love (the game) very much."
Rafael Nadal has been out of the tournament, which must have offered a huge sigh of relief allowing the Swiss great to aim for the record 18th grand slam title of his career.
