Six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, who hasn't won a major since the 2010 Australian Open, says he would like to put an end to the stranglehold that Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have on the sport. The two have played each other in the last four Grand Slam finals.
"I think it's up to somebody else to break that mold. I hope I can do that," the Swiss told reporters. "They've done amazing the last years, not just the last year or so. Obviously Novak stood out the most because of his amazing streak last year, him winning again in Australia and going for the Grand Slam, sort of the four in a row in Paris. Obviously Rafa was able to defend his French Open title. It wasn't a surprise, but it's always impressive to see Rafa do that. So hopefully it's my time of the year now or someone else's. Although I hope it's someone else's, because they are great for the game. If it is someone else, I hope it's me, of course. It's exciting times ahead. I fancy my chances here and at the U.S. Open."
World No. 3 Federer, who lost in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon to Tomas Berdych in 2010 and to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2011, added that winning a seventh title would be special. If he accomplished the feat, it would tie him with Pete Sampras for the most Wimbledon titles in the Open Era.
"I am dreaming of the title," Federer said. "There's no denying that. I have to do better in this event because I could have gone further the last couple. Maybe a bit unfortunate at times. Maybe the other guys were just too good. Maybe I wasn't quite at my best. Who knows what the combination was. But it's up to me to make that difference now and take it to the next step. Then once hopefully I am there, I can reach for the title. A seventh would be amazing. I think that would be tying Pete, which I think would be absolutely fantastic admiring Pete when I was younger."