Federer seeks Wimbledon anniversary tonic

Roger Federer will call upon the golden
memory of his Grand Slam breakthrough at
Wimbledon 10 years ago to fuel his belief that
he is still a contender at the majors.
The 31-year-old Swiss suffered a humbling
7-5, 6-3, 6-3 defeat in the French Open
quarterfinals on Tuesday at the hands of Jo-
Wilfried Tsonga, a loss which was his cue to
head to the grass courts of Halle and then
Wimbledon.
It was in 2003 at the All England Club that the
world No 2 won the first of his record 17
Grand Slam titles and he will return to London
in just over two weeks as defending champion.
"I love the grass court season, especially it's
been 10 years since my first Wimbledon
victory. So I'm looking forward to coming back
to Halle and Wimbledon where I did the
double ten years ago, so I'm sure it's going to
be a nice swing," said Federer.
Federer arrived in Paris having not won a title
in the year for the first time in 13 years.
His loss on Tuesday means that his runner-up
finish to Rafael Nadal in Rome last month is his
only appearance in a final in 2013.
And with his 32nd birthday approaching in
August, Federer knows that a failure to defend
his title at Wimbledon, where he has won
seven times, will only increase the suspicion
that his best days are behind him.
"There's always some pressure because I
expect a lot from myself, but nobody can
really prepare well on the grass because the
season is so short," he added.
"What's happened in Paris is already pretty
much past now. I have no choice but to move
on. I have so many more things then to worry
about right other than just this.
"This is obviously a crushing loss and I am
disappointed about it, but now I look forward
to other things."
Federer has been here before.
In the French Open final in 2008, Rafael Nadal
allowed him just four games – that was his
previous worst defeat in straight sets at a
major.
But he recovered from what could have been a
shattering loss to add further major titles to
his collection at the 2008 US Open, 2009
Roland Garros, 2009 Wimbledon, the
Australian Open in 2010 and Wimbledon again
last year.
"If you lose in five sets or straight sets or if
you play good or bad, at the end of the day
you're out of the tournament. That, to me, is
what matters really," added Federer.
"I care more about the result than how I
played because it gives me another
opportunity to play well in the next match.
Today I didn't do that, so I'm sent packing
home.
"That's OK. But it's easier when you change
surface. That definitely helps. You have
something else to look forward to."