rogerfederer.com - Roger aims for five

Roger aims for five

Roger has recovered from the groin and back injuries that forced him to miss the recent Halle tournament in Germany and is now fit for his fifth Wimbledon title!

Roger will have mixed emotions if he equals Bjorn Borg's record of five successive Wimbledon titles. Borg dominated Wimbledon for five years between 1976 and 1980 and Roger is odds-on to emulate that achievement but, while he would love to earn a share of the record, Borg is one of his idols and he knows exactly what the feat means to him.

He will be opening the grand slam tournament held against Russia’s Teimuraz Gabashvili at 2 p.m. local time today. Having defeated Rafael Nadal in last year’s final at the All England Club, Roger has never played Gabashvili, who is ranked 85th in the world – and is only playing his second match on grass.

"When I beat Pete Sampras to stop him winning five Wimbledon titles, Borg called me up and thanked me for breaking Pete's streak and keeping his alive," Roger said. "So it's ironic that I'm going for it now. I heard he's coming here for the final weekend. I hope I'll be there too. I think Bjorn was one of the most wonderful players we ever had in the game.”

Roger’s other main rivals in his section of the draw are Marat Safin, James Blake and Dmitry Tursunov. Roger feels ready to become the first player to win five straight Wimbledons since Bjorn Borg accomplished the feat from 1976 to 1980.

Go all the way, Roger!