Roger Federer says he is happy to play the underdog at the Australian Open, which will be his first tournament since Wimbledon.
"I mean, I prefer to be the favorite,” he said with a laugh while speaking to reporters before the tournament. “Underdog is okay … Why not, for a change? As long as I'm healthy, I feel like I can go four, five sets. I can play many matches in a row ... I think it’s going to be fun.”
With his ranking having dropped to No. 17, Federer is not among the top seeds at the event, and is in the same quarter as No. 1 Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishikori.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion insists he is less concerned about his opponents than he is with his own return to competition.
"It is a great draw, because I am in the draw," he said.
He admitted, though, that playing best-of-five sets again would be "slightly the unknown," though he noted that all the players in the men's draw would be adjusting to the longer matches of a Grand Slam.
"I trained as hard as I possibly could, so I will be ready for it,” he said. “I did numerous sessions where I trained over two-and-a-half, three hours. I feel I'm ready. But, like I said, it is the unknown. It's the part that I can only know once I've been there."
Federer will open against qualifier Jurgen Melzer in the first round.