Paris - Roger Federer could be excused for feeling groggy as he prepares for the French Open after becoming father to a second set of twins but instead the Swiss says he is fully-charged for a run deep into the tournament.
The 32-year-old Swiss's build-up to Roland Garros was disrupted when wife Mirka delivered Leo and Lenny this month, meaning he skipped the Madrid Masters.
The 17-times grand slam champion returned in Rome where he bowed out early against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy but he is not worried that he might be under-cooked coming into the year's second grand slam.
“Not much, you know, to be honest,” Federer told reporters when asked if his sleep patterns had been disturbed.
“They sleep that much that I don't feel bad yet going out of the room and coming back. It's almost the same situation.
“Things are fairly normal. 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.”
Federer said he was spending plenty of time with his twin girls Myla Rose and Charlene Riva who were born in 2009.
He also said he was delighted with the way he was hitting the ball and confident he was ready to play long five-set matches over the next couple of weeks.
“I feel like I'm in good shape. I know where my game is at. I'm not worried that maybe there is not enough matches,” Federer, who won his only French Open title in 2009, said.
“After Rome it was more just staying in the rhythm and relaxing again before Paris and Halle and Wimbledon.
“It's an important stretch now for me, and I don't want to come into this tournament uninspired or tired. That will be the worst thing.
“I feel very strong. I always hoped that around March, April time this year I was going to be feeling strong again, that I was able to catch up on the lost time I had last year.
“That's how I feel. It's been really solid in practice; no setbacks in matches; I have been able to back them up time and time again. So, yeah, I'm very confident if I need to go deep in a match or play tough matches in a row.”
Fourth seed Federer will play Slovakian Lukas Lacko in the first round and is on course for a quarter-final with Czech Tomas Berdych and a semi-final against Novak Djokovic.
Federer, who made his Roland Garros debut in 1999, said he expects the big guns to come through to the latter stages.
“We have seen some surprises this year already with Stan (Wawrinka) in Australia,” he said. “But in the French you need to play a lot. You get worn out. Some matches are really a trap.
“You can't really rely on your serve to get out of it. So I think maybe the best ones will be in the end of the tournament.” – Reuters