London - Roger Federer says his record-breaking year has given him great
belief in destiny as he competes for Wimbledon success number 9. His
opponent Novak Djokovic meanwhile has already started visualizing
victory.
Federer believes the "stars are aligned" for him
to win his ninth Wimbledon title when he takes on Novak Djokovic for
the All-England Club trophy on Sunday.
The 37-year-old Swiss has had a standout year with a record-breaking
list of achievements.
In Dubai in February, Federer became the second man to win 100 career
titles and in the lead-up to the grass grand slam, he broke double
figures at a single tournament for the first time with a 10th win in
Halle.
Another century stat followed by reaching the 100 victories mark at
Wimbledon after the quarter-finals.
Federer then conquered long-term rival Rafael Nadal 7-6 (7-3), 1-6,
6-3, 6-4 in Friday's semi-finals to end an 11-year wait for a
Wimbledon rematch of his 2008 final loss.
"I think that's why I was able to produce a good result [against
Nadal]," said Federer, who will play for a record-extending 21st
grand slam triumph in his 12th Wimbledon showdown, another
record-extender.
"It's been a rock solid year," he said. "Stars are aligned right now.
From that standpoint I can go into the final very confident."
However, Federer will set foot on Centre Court with the defending
champion top seed Novak Djokovic, who is aiming for a fifth Wimbledon
win and a 16th major overall.
Djokovic and Federer have shared the court more times than any other
pair on the tour with the 2019 final being their 48th meeting.
The world number one leads the head-to-head record 25-22 after
winning their last match in the semi-finals of the 2018 Paris
Masters.
"We've played each other so, so much. I don't mind that," Federer
added.
"I think it's more of a clear game plan. I think the moment you've
played somebody probably more than 15 times, there's not that much
more left out there. How much can you still surprise somebody."
But still, Federer says that in any Wimbledon final you don't have as
much time to study your opponent, comparing it to a school exam.
"The day of the test you're not going to read, I don't know, how many
books that day. You don't have the time anyhow," Federer said.
"At the end of the day it comes very much down to who's better on the
day, who's in a better mental place, who's got more energy left,
who's tougher when it really comes to the crunch."
Djokovic on the other hand is very strict and regimented and likes to
stick to his pre-final routine.
The 32-year-old Serb is aiming to repeat back-to-back Wimbledon
successes from when he first achieved the feat in 2014 and 2015.
Both of those triumphs came against Federer and Djokovic has already
visualized another victory as a mental tactic to prepare for the
world number three Swiss.
"I think the most important and probably the first win that you have
to make is the one within yourself," he said.
"Then whatever happens externally is, I guess, a consequence or
manifestation of that.
"The visualization is part of the mental preparation. It's very, very
important for me. I do it all the time. It is part of my prematch
routine. I also do it on the court."
Djokovic will be competing in his sixth Wimbledon final as a
four-time champion with only one loss to Britain's Andy Murray in
2013.
However, he does admit to having some pre-final nerves despite his
impressive run in Centre Court showpiece events.
"I have a successful score against guys in finals," Djokovic said.
"I'm afraid that it's going to be more nerves involved. It's a
constant pressure that you have to deal with.
"I will probably not expect anything less than what happened last
year [in winning the 2018 title]. Hopefully it's the same outcome."