“It’s probably been the best preparation I've ever had for Wimbledon,” said Federer. “Because we have a week more on the grass. Winning Halle has given me the extra confidence I guess it's going to take me to win this title here.
“Just the moving on grass takes some adjustment. Also, in my opinion, some physical adjustment, which I had all the time to do. That worked well. I could go early to Halle, train a lot, rest again.”
Federer has been training at the All England Club since Wednesday.
“The extended season has changed everything, to be honest. You might think that a week is not a lot, but a week is so much for us players. The good thing is you can heal problems you might have carried over from the French rather than taking chances right away running onto the grass, or not playing a warm-up event.
“I could rest and relax and then really train and prepare properly, for a change, for a good grass-court season. I can totally pace myself, which is huge in an athlete's career and life.”
He comes in with a 34-6 record on the season, including four ATP World Tour titles.
The Swiss isn’t look back with too many regrets on last year’s five-set loss to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
“If I do look at last year, I see more the positives than actually the heart-breaking loss in the final,” Federer told the media on Saturday.
“I wasn't playing great, and I made the finals. Again, I did end up playing a great tournament. I played some really good tennis.
“This year, I feel my game is better. I've gotten used to the racquet. This is not the first time I'm at Wimbledon with Stefan Edberg. The work I've put in with Severin, my coach, I could really aim for Wimbledon this year.”
Although a player winning a Grand Slam singles title at nearly 34 would be unprecedented in this era - it has not happened since the early 1970s - Federer is genuinely shaping up as one of the favourites for the title.
It remains to be seen how Djokovic will respond to his crushing defeat in the French Open final. Rafael Nadal has yet to pull himself out of an extended funk that has seen him fall to No.10, and has not gone deep at Wimbledon in three years. Andy Murray must contend with a pressure-cooker environment of a Grand Slam event on home soil. Top five stars Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori have historically struggled on grass, while last year’s beaten semi-finalists, Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov, have endured their own woes - Raonic with injury, Dimitrov with form.
The second seed opens his campaign against Damir Dzumhur, who’ll be making his Wimbledon debut.
Date: 27th June 2015, Source: Wimbledon and ATP
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