Federer perfect in Perth but fears Djokovic domination Down Under
PERTH, Australia - Roger Federer kept up his impressive early-season form after another flawless week of singles performances at the Hopman Cup in Perth — and then declared Novak Djokovic the man to beat at the Australian Open.
Federer will be aiming for a third successive Australian Open title and looked in good shape as he and Belinda Bencic retained the Hopman Cup for Switzerland with victory over Germany’s Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber in the final. Federer won all four of his singles matches in the mixed-team competition.
The 37-year-old used the Hopman Cup as his launching pad for his last two Grand Slam successes in Melbourne.
However, after beating world No 4 Zverev 6-4, 6-2, the 20-time major champion played down his chances of winning in Melbourne, where the action begins on Jan 14.
“I’m one of the top 10 favorites and so are many others,” he said.
“I don’t know the draw yet, I don’t know who my first-round opponent is, I don’t know if I play on Monday or day or night.
“In terms of who is going to win it, we know who the usual suspects are and I am part of that bunch.”
Federer, though, pinpointed Djokovic as the biggest threat to his hat-trick bid, with the Serb having won the most recent two Grand Slams at Wimbledon and the US Open.
World No 1 Djokovic lost to Roberto Bautista Agut in Doha last week, but Federer said: ‘No doubt about it, Novak is the favorite.
“Regardless of what happened in Doha, the game had a super, super strong last five or six months of the year.
“With his class once he gets his groove back he is hard to beat.”
Currently ranked third in the world, Federer can draw confidence from his recent record in Australia.
Last year he won his first 21 matches of the season, including the Australian Open title, as he became the oldest player to ever hold the No 1 ranking.
“I have had such a great time in Australia the last couple of years and always enjoyed playing here,” he said.
Federer’s win over Zverev was a step up following earlier victories over rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas, Britain’s Cameron Norrie and American Frances Tiafoe.
“It is good to finish on a singles performance like this,” he said.
“You adjust your game and Sasha (Zverev) is a totally different player than what I’ve had this week.
“I am happy I was able to maintain the good, high-quality tennis I showed all week.”