Federer Would Rather Save Pomp

It takes Roger Federer a few days to get over the French Open.

He empties his shoes of the sticky red clay of Roland Garros. He shakes the stuff out of his hair, washes the rusty goo from his shirts and shorts and socks so they are sparkling fresh and ready for grass stains.

For when Federer moves away from the French Open, a title he has never won, and comes to Wimbledon, where he has won 21 consecutive matches, his eyes brighten, his step lightens, his volleys have more zing, his serve has more bite.

Today the top-seeded Federer will begin his journey toward a possible fourth consecutive Wimbledon title against Frenchman Richard Gasquet. He hasn’t lost here since 2002, when he was beaten by Croat Mario Ancic in the first round. “That match really hurt, the Ancic match,” Federer said. “I underestimated him.”

Federer also has won 41 consecutive grass-court matches, tying him with Bjorn Borg for the all-time record.

Last month at the French Open, Rafael Nadal set a record for consecutive clay-court victories, passing Guillermo Vilas, who had held the record with 53. When Nadal passed the Argentine with a first-round victory over Robin Soderling, French Open officials had a special ceremony and presented Nadal with a trophy on the center court.

Should Federer beat Gasquet and break Borg’s record, he does not expect the same treatment.

“Honestly,” Federer said, “that is not the right thing to get a trophy for streaks. They did it at the French, which I thought was a little strange. I know that this will never happen here in Wimbledon. I’m not even expecting it. I wouldn’t want it either. You should get a trophy at the end of a tournament, not after a first-round win.”

It will not be an easy start for the 24-year-old Federer. Gasquet, 20, on Saturday won the Nottingham grass-court tournament for the second year in a row. If Federer beats Gasquet, he will face either England’s Tim Henman, a four-time semifinalist, or Sweden’s Soderling. Henman, 31, is not seeded, but there is no place else he feels so at home. Soderling has been as far as the third round here.

“It’s one of the toughest draws I’ve had in a long time,” Federer said Sunday. “Especially on grass, Gasquet should be higher-ranked, Tim should be higher-ranked, Soderling should be higher-ranked. They can all play on grass. It’s a very tough little section there. Gasquet, he just won a tournament on grass. I’d better be careful.”

Federer needed three sets to beat Gasquet in Halle, Germany, two weeks ago. The 7-6 (9-7), 6-7 (7-9), 6-4 victory was about as difficult as it gets for Federer on grass. But the Swiss man, who already has seven major titles, went on to win the Halle title and has arrived here feeling tiptop.

“I’ve had a great start to the season,” Federer said. “I haven’t had a match where I played poor all year long. I feel very good, actually, coming back to Wimbledon. If I can maintain that level of play, I’m also looking pretty good for Wimbledon this year.”

Gasquet seemed almost in awe of his opportunity to step into the spotlight on Wimbledon’s opening day.

“It’s really exciting to play on the Centre Court,” he said. “It’s historic for me. When I saw the draw I was a little sad though.”

That is not the competitive fire one needs against Federer here.

The only weakness Federer has shown this season has been against Nadal, the No. 2-seeded player. So far this season Federer is 49-0 against the field minus Nadal and 0-4 against Nadal, including a four-set loss in the French Open final. Had Federer won that match he would have held all four major titles.

“To me, he is the best in the world,” Nadal said. “I’ve never seen before one player so complete.”

James Blake, seeded No. 8, suggested only one man is capable of beating Federer here.

“Maybe Roger Federer is the only guy who can stop him,” he said. “If Roger’s playing well, I don’t see any one of us stopping him. He needs to have a bad day I think. But he has played a ton of tennis lately. Hopefully one of these matches he’ll just kind of mentally not be totally there or just physically be a little worn down and we might get a shot at him.”

Federer will not speak quite as confidently. “I don’t feel, how do you say it, like nobody can beat me. Nowhere do I feel like this,” he said.

Federer said he still remembers being a nervous teenager playing in juniors.

“I was so nervous,” he said. “I couldn’t serve, I couldn’t play from the baseline. Well, I still ended up winning that first-round match, but I felt something I never felt before.”

Federer was a first-round loser three of the first four years he played in the main draw, falling to Jiri Novak in 1999, Yevgeny Kafelnikov in 2000 and Ancic in 2002. But in 2001, Federer showed a hint of his grass greatness when he upset Pete Sampras in five sets in the fourth round before losing to Henman in the quarterfinals.

And in his three consecutive finals victories -- over Mark Philippoussis in 2003 and Andy Roddick the last two years -- Federer has lost only one set.

So, is he glad to be away from the clay?

“Between the Australian Open and the French Open you have so much time to talk about clay,” Federer said. “All you do is talk about clay. Obviously you’re happy then so you can have a rest for about six months talking about clay, which is pretty good. Then the grass comes around, finally grass is here. You hope it’s not over in a hurry.”