Roger Federer earns respect for never quitting

Give Roger Federer credit for always showing up and always staying until the end, no matter how sick or hurt he might be.

No, he did not beat Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals.

As it was, Federer was able to make a match of it for only about one set and about one hour before succumbing to the defending champion 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday night at Melbourne Park.

He was dealing with a painful groin muscle that cropped up during a five-setter in the previous round. It limited the movement of a guy who is 38 to begin with, kept him off the practice court on Wednesday and led him to take a medical timeout during his quarterfinal and another after the first set against Djokovic.

''Today was horrible, to go through what I did. Nice entrance. Nice sendoff. And in between is one to forget, because you know you have a 3% chance to win,'' Federer said. ''Got to go for it. You never know. But once you can see it coming, that it's not going to work anymore, it's tough.''

Still, the 20-time Grand Slam champion was out there until it was over.

Federer, after all, never skips a Grand Slam match altogether and never leaves early, no matter what.

He has played 1,513 tour-level matches and not retired midway through one. Not once.

He has played 421 matches at major tournaments since 1999 and not given his opponent a walkover. Not once.

On only four occasions during his lengthy and accomplished career, at non-majors has Federer needed to withdraw from a match before it started.

One of those came when he was supposed to face Djokovic for the title at the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London in 2014, but he begged off because of a bad back.

''London was the worst, having to go apologize to people for not being able to walk properly,'' Federer recalled Thursday. ''So I'd rather have this, to be honest.''

After securing a spot in his record eighth Australian Open final, and closing in on what would be a 17th major championship, Djokovic kept using the word ''respect'' while discussing Federer.

That Federer showed up at all, because, as Djokovic explained: ''Obviously, he was hurting. You could see it in his movement.'' That Federer continued until the very last point. And that he did as much as he did, moving out to a 4-1, love-40 lead before getting reeled back in.

Djokovic's own injury history includes quitting a match early as recently as the last Grand Slam tournament, the U.S. Open in September, because of a left shoulder problem. He was booed off the court when he left in the third set.

That completed a career Grand Slam of sorts for Djokovic, actually, with at least one mid-match retirement at each major: the French Open in 2005 (back) and 2006 (trouble breathing), Wimbledon in 2007 (foot blister) and 2017 (elbow), and the Australian Open in 2009 (heat illness).

''I did have retirements throughout my career. I know how it feels when you're hurt on the court. I know the amount of thoughts that go through your mind - whether or not you should continue or not, whether it's going to get worse. Only the player knows at that moment what you go through,'' Djokovic said.

''Obviously it's really hard to compare injuries, because everyone goes through their injury respectively, individually,'' he continued. ''But it's, I think, an amazing fact that he has never retired from a match, not a single match, throughout his career. Huge respect for that.''

Federer said he would not have stepped out into Rod Laver Arena if he did not believe there was at least a tiny chance that he could compete - and win.

''I did believe there was something that could be done today. And also must have felt like at least it was probably not going to get worse. If it did, this would have been my first retirement today,'' he said, noting that he had a scan of the muscle Wednesday and would have another now that his tournament is finished.

''We did talk about it with the team: How bad is it allowed to feel? And all that stuff. But it never went there, so that's good,'' Federer said. ''But you're playing careful, obviously.''

Date: 31 January 2020, Source: AP

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Federer: "No plans to retire and I hope to be back"

Roger Federer took the long view on Thursday despite coming up short in his bid to reach an eighth Australian Open final. The 38-year-old Swiss lost to Novak Djokovic 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-3 as the Serbian improved to 8-0 in Melbourne semi-finals.

But Federer still leaves Melbourne Park feeling positive about his first tournament of the year and what lies ahead for him in 2020. The third seed came back from the brink twice, against Aussie John Millman and American Tennys Sandgren, just to reach the semi-finals, and he pushed the seven-time champion Djokovic in the last four.

Federer served for the first set at 5-3 but was broken before Djokovic came back.

“Overall, at the end of the day I guess I'm very happy. I got to be happy with what I achieved. It was the maximum to go to get at this tournament, especially after the Millman and the Sandgren match,” Federer said.

He fell to 5-1 on the season, and Djokovic now leads their ATP Head to Head series 27-23. The Swiss had been trying to reach his 32^nd major championship final (20-11).

Federer was bothered by a groin injury that cropped up during his quarter-final against Sandgren, when Federer saved seven match points and prevailed in five sets.

“I went for a scan that same night, was all right. After that, well, we didn't push it. I didn't practise. I took a day off the next day. Today I just really rested until as late as possible. But I didn't have any pain in the daily stuff. That was a positive sign,” Federer said.

The Swiss, however, has never retired from a tour-level match and managed his pain throughout the semi-final.

“Today was horrible, to go through what I did. Nice entrance, nice sendoff, and in between is one to forget because you know you have a three per cent chance to win. Got to go for it. You never know. But once you can see it coming, that it's not going to work anymore, it's tough,” Federer said.

“At the end of the day I'm very happy. I think I overall played all right. I know I can play better. At the same time I also know I can play much worse. With no tournaments beforehand, I think it's a very, very good result.”

Federer was optimistic that he'll be back to full strength in the very near future.

“My feeling is rather quickly,” he said. “You want to be 100 per cent to be able to train again, then get ready for hopefully Dubai. Right now it's only guessing. I'm very happy that I don't feel any worse than when I started. That's for me super encouraging.”

This season could be a significant year for the 38-year-old. Last year, he won his 100th tour-level title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, joining American Jimmy Connors as the only men to cross the century mark with singles titles.

This year, Federer could pass Connors as the Open Era match wins leader. Connors has 1,274 match wins, 32 ahead of Federer, who has 1,242.

Federer also will try to remain on top of the Open Era Grand Slam titles list. The Swiss has 20 major championships, but Rafael Nadal, with 19, and Djokovic, who will play for his 17th on Sunday, remain close behind.

Federer might have to do all that work a spot lower in the ATP Rankings as well. Austrian Dominic Thiem will rise to a career-high No. 3 if he wins the Australian Open title.

That's not to say that this will be Federer's final season, though. He plans to come back to Australia in 2021.

“You never know what the future holds. But especially my age, you don't know. I'm confident. I'm happy how I'm feeling, to be honest. I got through a good, nice training block. No plans to retire,” Federer said.

“From that standpoint, we'll see how the year goes, how everything is with the family. We'll go from there. Of course, I hope to be back.”

Date: 30 January 2020, Source: ATP

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Federer saves 7 match points in Australian Open thriller

Even in the twilight of his career, Roger Federer is still capable of conjuring the near impossible. The 38-year-old Swiss produced another miraculous comeback to save seven match points and stun Tennys Sandgren 6-3, 2-6, 2-6, 7-6 (8), 6-3 to reach the Australian Open semifinals.

“You’ve got to get lucky sometimes,” Federer said with a smile in his on-court interview. “I was just hoping that maybe he wasn’t going to smash a winner, if he misses one or two match points, who knows what’s going to happen? I think I got incredibly lucky today.

“As the match went on, I started to feel better and just tried to play. I believe in miracles. There could be rain. Just let him finish me off in style, and he didn’t do that. I’m still standing here and obviously just very happy.”

Federer remains unbeaten (15-0) in quarter-finals at this event. The Swiss has also won his past six five-set matches in Melbourne, completing another great escape last week by rallying from 4/8 in the fifth-set tie-break of his third-round clash with John Millman.

Next up for him is second-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic, who beat No. 32 seed Milos Raonic of Canada in straight sets. Federer trails Djokovic 23-26 in their rivalry and has lost their past three matches in Melbourne, all of which took place in the semi-finals (2008, 2011, 2016).

“The draws are not getting easier. But I’ve got the next two days with nothing to do. You do feel better and you just never know. With these lucky escapes, you might play without expectations because you know you should be skiing in Switzerland. Might as well make the most of it!”

Federer applied pressure from the first ball in the opening set. Sandgren erased a pair of break points in his first service game, then fought back from 0/40 two games later. But Federer kept knocking on the door and it opened at 3-2, with the six-time champion securing a break after Sandgren sent a backhand long. He maintained his slight advantage and cracked a first serve on set point to take the early lead.

The Swiss has been prone to streaks of unforced errors this fortnight and endured another spell of them early in the second set. With Sandgren using his outstanding speed to make Federer play one more ball, the 28-year-old tracked down a deep forehand on break point at 1-0 and floated up a high lob, drawing a smash error from Federer to grab his first break of the day.

Federer struggled to find the range on his shots, hitting 15 unforced errors throughout the second set. Serving at 2-5, the third seed's backhand hit the top of the tape on set point and allowed Sandgren to level the match.

The unseeded American scored another break against the Swiss to lead 2-0 in the third set, causing the crowd inside Rod Laver Arena to gasp in unison. With the prospect of a maiden Grand Slam semi-final becoming more realistic, Sandgren blocked out any signs of nerves and remained calm.

Facing triple break point at 2-0, he unleashed a series of booming serves and eventually held. Sandgren continued to increase his first-serve percentage, beefing it up from 46 per cent in the first set to 70 per cent in the third set.

Federer left the court for a medical timeout at 0-3, but it didn't change Sandgren's dominance on serve. Most of his aces came in the Ad court, but he also consistently pushed the Swiss out wide to his forehand in the Deuce court, setting up one-two punches to keep points short.

Although Federer's movement appeared to be hampered, he fought for every point. He bravely erased five set points on his serve at 2-5, but Sandgren converted his sixth chance after a Federer backhand found the net, pumping his fist at his team as he moved closer to a career-defining win.

Both players traded comfortable service holds in the fourth set until Sandgren reached match point with Federer serving at 4-5. But the prospect of defeating the six-time champion suddenly showed in the American’s groundstrokes, with three match-point opportunities vanishing due to nervy errors. Federer eventually held with a forehand winner as the crowd roared in approval.

The set eventually moved to a tie-break and it was Federer who blinked first, hitting a loose forehand to give the American a 4/3 mini-break advantage. Another three match points came Sandgren's way at 6/3, but the Swiss shockingly erased all of them and hit a swinging forehand volley winner at 6/5 to level the score.

A seventh match point came and went at 7/6 after Sandgren hit a slice backhand into the net. Federer, at long last, earned a set point of his own at 8/7, but the American quickly removed it with an ace. Federer secured a 9/8 mini-break lead after the American pulled a forehand wide, then brought the match to a decider after Sandgren sent a smash from the baseline well long.

Sandgren stayed with Federer in the early stages of the final set, but the effects of squandering seven match points had understandably taken a toll mentally. Federer found new life in his movement and pace on his forehand, cracking a down-the-line forehand at 3-2 to earn a critical break. He made good on his first match point, launching a big first serve to wrap up play after three hours and 31 minutes.

“For most of the time there, I thought that was it,” said Federer. “Of course, there's little sparkles where maybe not, then you're like, no, it is over. Only maybe when I won that fourth set did I really think that maybe this whole thing could turn around.

“Honestly, when they told me seven match points, I was like, ‘What? I thought it was three.’ It's such a blur at some point.

“You go through a lot of different moments,” admitted Federer, who left the court for a medical time out due to a groin strain at 0-3 in the third set. “I figured the way I came back from the injury time-out, still being a little bit worried how things are, that didn't help. You hope sometimes you can solve things with a medical timeout, but that was not really the case.

“That third set was halfway gone anyhow, so it was just a matter of coming to terms with what do I have, what don't I have in my game. I figured in the fourth set, somehow things could go quickly or maybe I'll hang around for a bit, or eventually he'll get the break, because he was playing very well.”

Federer hopes his groin went tight through spending 12 hours and 44 minutes on court in five matches, but he’ll find out the full extent of the problem on Wednesday. “I started to feel it about midway through the second set,” he said.

“I can get through a match like this, through a match like Millman, yes, you do believe. I only believe it over once it's over. I shake the hand of the opponent, that it's over, that it's fine.

“Grand Slams are definitely tough in many different ways. Then again, I didn't feel like I wasted too much emotional energy out there today because I came to terms quickly that things weren't exactly the way I wanted them to be. Instead of dwelling over them, I felt like I'll just play with it, see what can be done, see if he can put me away or not.

“When I got to the fifth set, I was like, ‘Oh, it's already fifth set’. I don't feel physically exhausted like against Millman. I recovered very well from that match. I'm also hopeful because I feel like I didn't get spent completely today. I'm hopeful that I can recover actually.”

Date: 28 January 2020, Source: ATP and Australian Open

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Federer wins five-set thriller at Australian Open

Six-time champion Roger Federer said it was a "big relief" to survive an epic five-set marathon and seal his 100th Australian Open win on Friday, fending off a dogged challenge from John Millman.

The Swiss master was rattled by the all-guns-blazing Australian, but scraped through 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (10-8) over four hours and three minutes to stay alive in his quest for a 21st Grand Slam title.

Federer recovered from 0/3 and 4/8 deficits in the eighth fifth-set tie-break of the championship for an historic victory that broke his three-match losing streak in fifth sets. He’d previously lost fifth-set matches to Grigor Dimitrov in the 2019 US Open quarter-finals, Novak Djokovic in the 2019 Wimbledon final and Kevin Anderson in the 2018 Wimbledon quarter-finals. His most recent fifth-set win came on the occasion of his 20th Grand Slam crown at the 2018 Australian Open (d. Cilic).

“Oh God, it was tough,” Federer told former World No. 1 Jim Courier in an on-court post-match interview. “Thank God it was a super breaker, otherwise I would have lost this one. Where to start? I think John played a great match. He is a great fighter, a good guy and it came down to the wire at the end. What a match.

“This one was unique in many ways that I was able to turn a super breaker around like this in an atmosphere, it was crazy, fun, and I couldn't be more happy. Big relief.

“Things were extremely difficult, not just in the breaker, but throughout the match for me against John,” he added.

“A bit of luck maybe goes one way. I had to stay so focused, take the right decision. He was doing all that stuff at the beginning of the super tie-break, coming up with the goods and I thought, ‘Okay, I guess I tried.’ I didn’t play too bad after all and I was getting ready to explain myself in the press conference. What a match and John deserves over half of this one.”

Federer, who improved to 3-1 lifetime against Millman, hit 62 winners, including 16 aces. Although he committed 82 unforced errors, Federer won 85 of his 111 first-service points, but went three of 10 on break points. Millman won 178 points to Federer’ 181 total points.

“I had to figure out a way to get him in trouble on his serve,” said Federer. “He’s not known to be the best server. He’s got a good serve, but it is not like the tall guys coming in super fast and everything. But he was doing such a nice job of not making many mistakes and I was struggling in the forehand cross court, backhand cross court. He was dominating both sides, so I think for me it was a matter of holding my own serve, figure out a way and give myself time and chances.

“I never really felt comfortable and I thought John did a great job of keeping me on my back foot. I couldn’t always step in, until the last shot. I went for it. He picked the wrong side. It was tough. John made it so difficult for me tonight.”

Millman, who prides himself in being one of the fittest players on the ATP Tour, started in confident fashion, holding serve to love and trading powerful groundstrokes with Federer, who lost his serve in the fourth game when Millman hit a backhand approach winner. Millman consolidated the break for a 4-1 lead by recovering from 0/30 and saving one break point, but got caught on the run by Federer when serving for the set at 5-3. In the next game, errors from Federer handed Millman the 32-minute opener.

Federer said he’d need three matches to start playing his best tennis and the Swiss started to fire in the second set, testing Millman on serve with deeper returns but could not convert his lone break point at 5-5, 30/40. Federer stepped up at 3/1 in the tie-break, seizing control with a big forehand that left Millman scrambling and rushed the net at 6/2 to strike an athletic backhand volley winner.

There was little to choose between the pair in the third set, but Millman gave Federer a look at 4-5, when he hit a double fault at Deuce, only to slam the door with an ace down the middle. Federer, now rushing the net and putting Millman deep behind the baseline, weathered an aggressive barrage and clinched the 45-minute third set when Millman over-hit a backhand.

Millman refused to give in and in the seventh game of the third set, chased down deep groundstrokes at 30/40 to force a forehand error from Federer and a 4-3 advantage. Unlike the first set, when Millman was broken when serving at 5-3, the 30-year-old didn’t make the same mistake, striking four powerful first serves into court for a cool love hold.

“I could have gone away easily in that fourth set. Roger was playing pretty well. Had the momentum. I thought I turned it around pretty well. I left everything out there.”

When Federer overhit a mid-court forehand long to give Millman a 2-1 lead in the decider another upset was on the cards, but never rule out a champion. Federer bounced back immediately for 2-2, and later Millman needed to recover from 15/40 for a 4-3 lead. As the pair’s fourth ATP Head to Head meeting edged closer to a deciding-set tie-break, Federer applied the pressure firmly on Millman’s shoulders, but the Australian didn’t buckle.

Millman stormed to a 3/0 lead in the eighth fifth-set tie-break of the championship and carried the momentum, including a superb forehand passing stroke at 7/4, but Federer won six straight points for a famous victory - ending with a forehand winner into space (his 62nd winner of the match).

“If you watched to get up to 8/4, I hit a running forehand line pass, a running forehand cross pass, a stop volley that I was probably dead to rights to make,” said Millman. “Then Roger made it tough. I don't know. I left it all out there. That's what the best players, I guess.

“It's not as if it was double faults or first-ball errors. I went after it. At 8/8, I had a chance, he played a pretty good volley, I'm running full tilt. Missed one line. Again, that would have been a pretty good pass.

“Then I played a great point I think at 8/9 and he picks the right way. What do you do, you know?”

For a man who has contested 1,510 tour-level matches and 157 tour-level finals, the main purpose of third-round matches is often simply to progress further in the draw for Federer. But the 20-time Grand Slam champion was clear that playing matches like tonight’s epic, regardless of the result, is one of the main reasons he continues to play the sport.

“If I do play tennis it's because of winning titles, trying to win as many matches as possible, enjoying myself out on court, but also being in epic matches like this. It doesn't always have to be finals,” said Federer.

“As long as the crowds are into it, you have a great battle with an opponent who you really admire and respect, it's a good feeling. I'm happy I had that match tonight. I hope I would feel the same way also if I would have lost.”

Federer will next play Marton Fucsovics of Hungary in the fourth round on Sunday.

Date: 24 January 2020, Source: ATP and AFP

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Imperious Federer thumps Krajinovic

Roger Federer displayed imperious form to canter into the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 thumping of Serb Filip Krajinovic.

The six-time champion started and finished with a flourish to extend his unbeaten ATP Head to Head record against Krajinovic to four matches. Federer ripped 42 winners to break serve seven times throughout the one-hour, 32-minute encounter.

“I am very happy. It is a great start to the season so far,” said Federer. “I am feeling really relaxed out on the court. I trained hard and you hope it pays off and not that it was all for nothing this week. I am happy, I am still going and I am looking forward to the next one.”

Federer is now just one win away from winning his 100th match at the Australian Open. The Swiss, who owns a 99-14 record at Melbourne Park, is the only man to win 100 matches at a Grand Slam event. Federer owns a record 101 wins at Wimbledon.

Federer will need to beat Australian John Millman to reach that mark at the year’s opening major championship. Millman, who beat Federer in four sets at the 2018 US Open, defeated 31st seed Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 in two hours and 28 minutes. Federer leads Millman 2-1 in their ATP Head to Head series.

“Millman is a great guy. I practised a lot with him and I almost passed out when I played against him in New York,” said Federer. “It was so hot. He had no problem, he’s from Queensland. He never came to check on me to see if I passed out after that match but I didn’t, I’m here.

“I played him two other times, once in Brisbane and I almost lost that one too. The other time was in Halle last year. He is super good guy, unbelievably tough opponent. There are not many fitter guys than him out there and those are the guys I respect the most, actually. He gets absolutely the most out of the game and I hope it is going to be a great match with some great rallies.”

Federer is aiming to equal Novak Djokovic’s record of seven Australian Open titles this year. The 38-year-old captured his sixth trophy at this event in 2018, beating Marin Cilic in five sets to add a 20th crown to his record Grand Slam titles haul. Rafael Nadal can equal that total at this event if he wins his second Australian Open title.

It was a rapid start from Federer, who stood on top of the baseline and ripped backhand winners to establish a 2-0 lead. The third seed soon opened the court and ripped his forehand to double his advantage, before taking the opener after 20 minutes. The third seed closed out the first set with a love service hold as Krajinovic netted a backhand return.

The second set proved more competitive as Krajinovic fought back from a break down, flattening his backhand and rushing Federer into errors with deep returns to reach 4-4. But the Serbian committed two errors at the net in the following game to gift Federer the opportunity to serve for a two-set lead. Federer held serve to 15, as Krajinovic failed to return a powerful serve down the T.

“I saw that Krajinovic had made 90 per cent of first serves in the first two sets. I was looking at the stats and I was aware. I am aware of a lot of things. It was a very high first-serve percentage, extremely high, to get only a handful of second serves throughout two sets is rare. I was somehow able to get the ball back in, get into the rally and figure it out from there.”

Federer cruised to victory from that point, winning 13 of 15 second-serve return points to secure three service breaks. The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who dropped just one point behind his first serve (10/11) in the final set, clinched the win with a powerful cross court forehand winner.

Over his two matches so far Federer has dropped just 13 games, and admitted he preferred easy early encounters rather than tough battles to preserve energy.

“I prefer this much more than overcooked. As easy as it looks, there's always the effort, trying to extend the lead,” he said.

“Of course, it's not quite the same stress level if you're down a set or a break or two sets, whatever it may be. I prefer it this way because you have always extra left in the tank if you need it.”

Date: 22 January 2020, Source: ATP, Reuters and AFP

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Flawless Federer eases past Johnson

After 21 consecutive appearances at the Australian Open, Roger Federer is familiar with every inch of Rod Laver Arena. The third-seeded Swiss brought the level of comfort that dozens of matches on a court can provide to his opening-round clash with Steve Johnson, sweeping aside the American 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in a breathtaking display.

The 38-year-old Swiss superstar hit 34 winners, including 11 aces, in his first victory of the 2020 season.

Federer said in his pre-tournament press conference that his expectations for this fortnight were low, but the six-time champion may want to raise them after his latest performance. He broke the American five times and remains unbeaten in first round matches in Melbourne (21-0). Federer hasn't lost his opening match at a Grand Slam since 2003.

"I think I became a better player. Thirty-two seeds helped, to keep more of these better-ranked players away. When I came up on Tour, there were only 16 seeds," Federer said of his early-round success at Grand Slams. "I guess I created a game which allowed me to manage all kinds of opponents.

"I’m happy that I was able to manage those first rounds. As we know, they can always be very tricky. That’s why Masters 1000 are tough sometimes. You can play a Top 20 player in the first round and that’s when it gets tough."

Johnson arrived with confidence after winning an ATP Challenger Tour event last week in Bendigo. But his off-pace slice backhands and chip forehand returns played into Federer’s strengths, allowing the Swiss to attack with his forehand and move forward. A forehand volley winner gave Federer an immediate break in Johnson's opening service game and he led 4-1 after 18 minutes.

Rain briefly brought both players off the court so the roof could be closed, but it did little to disrupt Federer’s momentum. He continued to coast in his service games and grabbed the early advantage.

The second set was one-way traffic for Federer, who won 16 of the first 18 points and sprinted to a 4-0 lead. Even when Johnson made the correct play, he was often reduced to a spectator as he watched Federer whip winners past him. Federer landed 80 per cent of his first serves (16/20), consistently setting himself up for one-two punches to end points. A forehand winner from the Swiss, his 26th of the match, gave him a commanding two-sets lead.

Federer opened the third set by once again jumping out in front with an early break. He comfortably served out the match on his first try to wrap up play after just 81 minutes. Federer improved to 3-0 in his ATP Head to Head with Johnson and has yet to drop a set against the American.

"I think, for me, really, the first three rounds are key to get going, to get used to the pressure, stay calm, when to save break point or 30/30 points... or just to stay calm if you're down a set and a break or whatever it might be. This is sort of the unknown that can be a little bit scary at times.

"But today there was none of that, because I broke early each set and was able to get on a roll, play freely after that. And also, I felt I had margin. Anything I was doing I felt like I had the game under control. That might not be the case in the next round, so I just think I have to be careful. Round-by-round, point-for-point mentality. I know other guys that are playing extremely well right now so I think it's just important to stay very calm about things right now."

Federer, with a 98-14 match record at Melbourne Park, will next take on Serbian Filip Krajinovic or French qualifier Quentin Halys in the second round.

Date: 20 January 2020, Source: ATP

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Federer has 'low expectations' at Australian Open

Roger Federer might have won 20 Grand Slams and six Australian Open titles but the Swiss great Saturday insisted he had "low expectations" at the first Major of the season.

The 38-year-old crowd favourite has yet to play a competitive match this year, opting out of the recent ATP Cup to spend more time with his family.

The team event in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney provided Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal with six high-intensity clashes heading into Melbourne Park, and Federer knows he has his back to the wall.

Seeded three, he has a tricky clash against 81st-ranked American Steve Johnson first up. Federer leads their ATP Head to Head series 2-0, having beaten Johnson at 2016 Wimbledon and 2017 Indian Wells.

"I'm happy to be back in Australia. I'm happy to be playing here, of course, I love it," said Federer, who has returned for a 21st Australian Open campaign.

"Look, it's a tricky situation right now playing somebody who has just played a lot this week. He's ready to go. He's match-ready and I'm not," he added of Johnson.

"I got to really make sure I get out of the gates quick."

Despite his age Federer won four singles titles last year, but he failed to add another Grand Slam.

His closest call came in the Wimbledon final, where he lost a five-set epic to Djokovic, with his last success at Melbourne Park in 2018.

In contrast, his great rivals Djokovic and Nadal won two apiece last year, with the Spaniard moving within one Slam title of Federer's record 20.

The Swiss star said the off-season had gone well but he needed to get matches under his belt.

"I've had plenty of time to pace myself and do all the things I had to do to get ready. I hope it's enough," he said.

"I know it's a super-long road to victory. That's why I got to take it one match at a time. My expectations are quite low.

"I'm excited to play Steve," he added. "He's a good guy. With his old-school playing - big forehand, slice backhand, good serve - I think it's going to be a nice match for me."

Date: 18 January 2020, Source: AFP and ATP

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