Roger Federer begins his quest for a record extending 18th Grand Slam at the French Open confident he is well prepared despite recently becoming father to a second set of twins.
The former world No1 has only recently returned to the court and has a tricky opening round against Slovenian world No89 Lukas Lacko.
The unflappable 33-year-old Basel native says it’s business as usual as he bids for a second title in Paris after his lone victory in 2009.
On his opponent, Federer said: “He’s been on the tour for a while now. He’s not totally unknown for me. I know he likes having a good rhythm, he hits early.
“I practiced with him several times. I don’t think there is any secret there and I think it’s good for a first round to play against a player you know a little bit.”
Federer says he is in good nick coming to Paris and the recent additions to the family haven’t affected his routine.
“They sleep that much that I don’t feel bad yet going out of the room and coming back,” he added about extending his family to four children. “Clearly there is a bit more happening and there is a bit more you can do if you want to, but Mirka takes care of most of it. Routines are pretty much the same, really.”
When asked if he lacked preparation on clay ahead of his first round match, Federer said: “I’m not sure if I have played less than in previous years on clay, because sometimes I didn’t play in Monaco (where he lost to Stan Wawrinka in the final).
“It’s been really solid in practice; no setbacks in matches. I’m very confident if I need to go, you know, deep in a match or play tough matches in a row. I feel like I’m in good shape. I know where my game is at.”
Meanwhile, world No2 Novak Djokovic says he is not worried about his form, but he is still greatly concerned by the devastating floods back home in the Balkans.
The seven-time Grand Slam winner is only missing Roland Garros to become the eighth player in history to have won all four Slams.
Djokovic, who opens with a first round match against Portugal’s world No41 Joao Sousa, said beating Rafael Nadal at the Rome Masters last weekend was the perfect tonic heading to the French capital.
“The win in Rome came at the right moment for me. For my confidence level it’s definitely a booster and positive thing, and hopefully I can carry that confidence coming into Roland Garros,” said the Serb.
“The last few years have been quite successful for me in Roland Garros, especially the last two where I played finals and semi-finals and lost in both of the matches against Nadal, who has the best record on clay and the best record here.
“The Rome win against Nadal; to beat him on clay is something that doesn’t happen every day. So, it definitely helps my confidence, my self-belief. And I’m healthy and obviously very motivated and inspired to play my best tennis here.”
On the floods back home, Djokovic said: “It’s devastating times. The floods are of epic proportions. They have forced many people to flee homes and many people lost everything that they have, even the loss of their close ones.
“It is one of the biggest tragedies that Serbia and Bosnia and Croatia had in their history,” he added after donating his Rome winnings to the recovery efforts.
Meanwhile, women’s world No1 Serena Williams said she was delighted to return to the tournament as the defending champion.
Winning the French Open for a second time had been a major goal for Williams, and she linked up with coach Patrick Mouratoglou’s Paris academy after a shock loss to Virginie Razzano in the first round in 2012.
Clay has become arguably Williams’ most dominant surface, with the 32-year-old unbeaten on it last season and having lost just three matches in the last three seasons.
The American said: “I don’t remember the last time I was defending champ here, so it feels really good that I’m here as the defending champion. I’m really excited.”
