Federer: "No shortcuts in best of five"

When Roger Federer takes the court for his first-round match with Pablo Carreno Busta at Roland Garros, Federer will begin his 54th straight Grand Slam campaign, which ties Stefan Edberg for second in the Open Era. Only Wayne Ferreira has more consecutive appearances with 56. The Swiss superstar spoke Friday about his longevity and how meaningful it is to have shown ‘great stamina’ at events where there are ‘no shortcuts’.

“It's incredible. I never thought I was going to play that many, have that many opportunities to do well at the Slams,” said Federer. “Clearly I'm happy about it, but they don't buy me victories. But it shows maybe great stamina and an injury-free career in a way.

“In a Slam where you know you're going to enter best-of-five-set matches over two, three weeks, you have to be at your best and you need to feel like you can compete with the best at the highest of levels for a long period of time. There are no shortcuts in best-of-five-set matches, and that's where I think I was always up for the challenge. I'm very happy that I was able to do that for so long so far.”

Federer enters Paris on the back of a runner-up finish to Rafael Nadal at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. The 31 year old is feeling confident as he prepares to open his title quest at the second major tournament of the season.

“I'm happy about the way I play when I practise, but also during the games,” Federer said. “I felt fit and I have a good level of confidence. My confidence came back little by little. I'm at the level I want to have for this tournament.”

The World No. 3 took the social media world by storm Thursday when he launched his Twitter account, @rogerfederer with a selfie. Federer reflected on his decision to finally cave in and begin Tweeting.

“For me, it's really [about] connecting with the fans on a different platform than what I've done in the past, as well. I also clearly wanted to see for myself how it really works for the other players and other athletes and other people around the world,” said Federer.

“I wasn't sure in the beginning, to be honest. For me, to enter that right away was not the right thing to do. I wanted to first wait and see and only do it when I felt very comfortable and not get pushed into it by someone. At the end of the day, it's got to be something I needed to feel comfortable with, and I did get many comments from many fans and followers that they would love to see me on Twitter. I said, ‘Okay, I'm happy to give it a try and have some fun with it’.”

As for the new look Federer debuted earlier this month in Madrid, Federer remarked, “I wanted to have my hair shorter. But don't worry, it will grow.”

Date: 25th May 2013, Source: ATP