• Wimbledon

Federer out to end Djokovic & Nadal dominance

ESPN staff
June 23, 2012
Roger Federer is gunning for a 17th grand slam title © PA Photos
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Roger Federer has warned rivals Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal he is ready to end their recent dominance at grand slams, declaring he feels "perfect" as he bids for a seventh Wimbledon title.

Federer, a 16-time major winner, has not won a grand slam since triumphing at the Australian Open in 2010, and he has been powerless in recent times to stop Djokovic and Nadal sharing the sport's biggest prizes between them.

Nadal's victory over world No. 1 Djokovic in the final of the French Open two weeks ago was a record fourth consecutive time they had been the last two men standing in a slam.

Despite so far being unable to capture a 17th grand slam, Federer, 30, says he remains confident he can assert his superiority once more.

"I think it's up to somebody else to break that mould. They have done amazingly well the last few years, not just the last year or so," he said.

"Hopefully it's my time of the year now. It's exciting times ahead. I fancy my chances here and at the US Open. As long as they're No. 1 and No. 2, they face each other in the final. It's maybe a good thing for them, a hard thing for us.

"At the same time, I'm very close to breaking that, and hopefully I can make a run here at Wimbledon."

Federer begins his quest to equal Pete Sampras' record of seven Wimbledon titles against Albert Ramos on Monday, with the Swiss adamant he is at the peak of his powers despite suffering a shock defeat to German veteran Tommy Haas in the final of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle last weekend.

"My confidence is very good. I've won many tournaments, so many matches the last year or so that I feel perfect in this regard. I'm match-fit. I'm match-tough right now, and I think that's also key going into a grand slam.

"This year things have been very good. I haven't felt tired at all. I took a couple of days off after Halle when we got here. I've been able to get the practices in even with the rain. I don't feel like I have to work on anything specific because I feel everything is working in my game. Physically I have no lingering injuries. I'm in a good spot right now.

"I am dreaming of the title. There's no denying that. I want to do better. I have to do better in this event because I could have gone further the last couple of years. Maybe I was a bit unfortunate at times. Maybe the other guys were just too good. Maybe I wasn't quite at my best. Who knows what the combination was? But it's up to me to make that difference now and take it to the next step.

"Then once, hopefully, I am there, I can reach for the title. A seventh would be amazing. That would be tying Pete, which would be absolutely fantastic because I admired Pete when I was younger."

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