• Chris Wilkinson

Federer is the ultimate champion

Roger Federer won his 16th Grand Slam and fourth Australian Open title in Melbourne © Getty Images

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Chris Wilkinson is a former British No. 1 who represented Great Britain at the 1992 Olympic Games and reached the third round at Wimbledon four times. Since retiring in 1999 he has worked as a commentator on the men's tour and is currently director of tennis at Lee on Solent Tennis Club. He joins ESPN.co.uk as our resident expert, providing an exclusive view on the world of tennis.

Roger Federer's victory at the Australian Open just goes to show how incredible a player he really is. What is amazing is the fact that he can just step it up a gear when he needs to. His attitude in the final was phenomenal - he knew he would have to play some of his best tennis to beat Andy Murray and he did.

His sole purpose is to win Grand Slam tournaments. I have seen him play at some of the lower tier events and he is not as motivated. He selects his tournaments really well so he peaks at the right time. He will be looking to win all four Grand Slams this year, something he has never done before, but it is going to be difficult for him, especially at the French Open as there are so many good clay court players around. I do think he could win three - he will definitely be the player to beat at Wimbledon and the US Open.

What is quite incredible about Federer is that he hardly misses a tournament through injury. He is quite a few years older than the other players on the tour but he looks after himself extremely well. He has never missed a Grand Slam tournament in ten years - he just keeps going. Rafael Nadal has had so many problems with his knees. Federer's playing style helps of course- if Nadal wins a match 6-2 6-3 he could be out on the court for a couple of hours but Federer could get the same result and only be on the court for an hour and a half. Nadal puts more stress on his body whereas Federer is able to glide through. In last year's Wimbledon final against Andy Roddick after the fifth set went to 14-16, Federer looked as if he could have played another set.

I still think he has got at least another two or three years left in him. He is 28 and at the age when players start to think about retiring. He's got a family now and his priorities may start to change, but if he keeps playing like this I can't see him giving in any time soon.

Murray can win a Slam
Andy Murray had a great tournament and it was a shame he couldn't win his first Grand Slam. He was playing well and had a good record against Federer but I think he needed to win the first set to stand a chance, but Federer played so well. His best chance was in the third set when he was serving for the set and he had a couple of set points.

I think he can win a Grand Slam, he just needs to find that next gear to step it up. He played fantastically well against Nadal and his tactics were spot on, but it was different against Federer.

Federer is getting older, he is 28 now and he is not going to be around forever, he may miss tournaments, as you get older it is harder to stay fit. There is no reason why Murray shouldn't win one - Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin Del Potro both have, Murray is the only player in the top five not to have.

Nikolai Davydenko was the form player going into the Australian Open but he came up against Federer. The draw worked out well for Murray but maybe a few years ago he would have lost one of those matches. He fought well and he has improved mentally.

He still needs to learn when to be aggressive. He did it well against Nadal and added the serve and volley to his game. He showed glimpses of it but he didn't do it enough against Federer - his returns were often a bit short. You can't do that against Federer - you can get by if you get the ball in against other players but against the best you have got to keep being aggressive all the time. He also needs his serve to be more reliable- his second serve can be a bit vulnerable.

Laura Robson made it through to the final of the girls' singles tournament for the second successive year © Getty Images

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Positives to take for Britain
Well done to the British players this week, obviously Murray was the star but Elena Baltacha did really well and Laura Robson has shown just how much talent she has. It was a really encouraging tournament for the Brits and it should hopefully inspire the others coming through.

Quite a few players fell in the early stages, and I just don't think there is a real dominant force in the ladies' game as there was a few years ago, but you can always count on Serena Williams to get through. It was the perfect final in Australia - the world No. 1 against Justine Henin in just her second tournament back and she so nearly won a Grand Slam.

Justine and Kim Clijsters' comebacks are just what the ladies' game needs, but looking at the fact that you can be out for two years, have kids, come back and win a Grand Slam proves that the women's game is not in the best shape. But it's great news that they're back and their return is no doubt what the game needs.

While some ladies need to play week in, week out to pick up enough points to boost their rankings, the Williams sisters are able to pick and choose which events they play at. If they are in the mood to win tournaments that is what happens. They come to the major tournaments and they know how important it is to peak at the right time.

Chris Wilkinson is a former British No. 1. He joins ESPN.co.uk as our resident expert, providing an exclusive view on the world of tennis.

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