Federer doesn't expect new Wimbledon champion
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China Daily, June 29, 2011
Roger Federer has warned Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray that it will take a huge effort to stop either him or Rafael Nadal winning yet another Wimbledon title.
Australian Open champion Djokovic has made a powerful start to his bid for a first Wimbledon crown, while Murray's superb form led some pundits to tip him to end Britain's 75-year wait for a men's champion.
But Federer remains on course for a record-equaling seventh triumph after moving into the quarterfinals with a 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Mikhail Youzhny on Monday.
The 16-time Grand Slam winner faces France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last eight and is seeded to face Djokovic in the semifinals.
In the other half of the draw, defending champion Nadal ground out a four-set win over dangerous Argentine Juan Martin del Potro in the fourth round.
Nadal, who is seeded to meet world No 4 Murray in the semifinals, has appeared in four of the past five Wimbledon finals, while Federer has only missed one final here in the past eight years.
With that in mind, Federer, searching for his first Grand Slam since the 2010 Australian Open, believes it is too soon to talk of the old guard being unseated by Djokovic and Murray.
"We've got to wait and see how this turns out because it could be a repeat of the Djokovic and Murray final in Australia and then I was wrong. If it's not the case, then I was right," Federer said.
"At the end of the day, I don't care if I'm wrong or right. I know where my game is at. I know where Rafa's game is at.
"He was going for four Grand Slams in a row in Australia and when he loses suddenly it's a new era. I just struggle when it goes from one extreme to the next.
"I don't need to get into all that fuss. I just need to straighten the record sometimes, otherwise people go in a direction that's just ridiculous."
After sweeping through the first week without dropping a set, Federer finally surrendered one at the start of his match against Youzhny on Court One.
But even that shock couldn't knock Federer out of his stride and he recovered to reach a 29th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal.
"Even though I lost the first set it was good tennis. He didn't have a break point," he said.
"I played a good breaker actually and maybe got a touch unlucky with a net cord against me at 4-1 that could have gone my way. If I turned that into 5-1, I don't think I'd lose a breaker from there."
Federer's next challenge is to subdue the tremendous athletic talents of French 12th seed Tsonga, who showed his grass-court pedigree by reaching the final at Queen's earlier this month.
The 29-year-old, who last won Wimbledon in 2009, has beaten Tsonga in four of his five meetings, but he expects a tough challenge from the former Australian Open finalist.
"He's a great player. He's proven it on numerous occasions. It's going to be good tennis," Federer said.
"He was the guy I kind of expected to come through in that section. It happened, so it's going to be a tough match.
"I think he's got the weapons to be a huge threat on grass and make a run here. It's a tough draw, but I'm ready for it."
