Federer hopes to continue 'crazy good' run

Two-time defending champion Roger Federer will be aiming for a 21st grand-slam title in January at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

tennis

Roger Federer is seen during a media event at the Pinnacles in Nambung National Park, WA. (AAP)

Roger Federer hopes his "crazy good" late-career bloom will continue in 2019, and he'll use his lucky charm tournament to kick-off proceedings.

Federer's career looked to be on the wane after he sat out most of 2016 with a serious knee injury.

But the 37-year-old has enjoyed a remarkable resurgence over the past two years, with the world No.3's hot form further cementing his status as the greatest ever player.

Federer won the Australian Open and Wimbledon among seven tournament wins in 2017.

And he added another Australian Open crown in 2018 to take his career grand slam title tally to 20.

The Hopman Cup has been Federer's perfect launching pad over the past two summers, and the Swiss maestro has decided to return to Perth for a third straight year.

Federer won the mixed-teams event alongside Belinda Bencic last summer, with that success followed by a sixth Australian Open crown.

The veteran hopes he can repeat the dose this summer.

"I hope that again it will be the start of a great season for me, because the last two seasons have been crazy good for me," Federer said on Thursday.

"I would never have imagined that kind of return. I'm just very happy things are going so well.

"The Hopman Cup is a good place for me to start the season with, and I'm hopeful that's going to be the same again this year."

Federer has put no end date on his career, leaving the door wide open to play on in 2020.

And he's doing his best to downplay expectations of what he can achieve over the next 12 months.

"I think with my age people know that if I did something extraordinary ... that would be amazing," Federer said.

"And if that didn't happen, maybe it's logical you can't produce that tennis every year.

"You also maybe need a bit of luck, and the draw to fall your way. A lot of things need to happen to win any slam, for also the top four guys."

This season's Hopman Cup is set to be one of the biggest ever, with 23-time grand-slam champion Serena Williams also a confirmed starter.

Williams will team with rising star Frances Tiafoe to represent the United States.

It will be Williams' first outing since her loss to Naomi Osaka in August at the US Open final.

Williams received multiple code violations during that match, with the 37-year-old even calling the chair umpire a "thief".

With the ATP World Team Cup set to be introduced in January 2020, the Hopman Cup, in its 31st year, could be chopped after this summer.

Federer hopes it will continue.


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Source: AAP



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