World number three Roger Federer believes that he can reclaim the world number one ranking and that quest begins at the Roland Garros 2011 tournament.
The Swiss star arrived in Paris earlier than expected after being booted out in third round of Rome Masters 2011 last week. This gave him the opportunity to have more practice time at the claycourts than his two rivals – Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
The 16-time Gramd Slam champion has not made it to the final stage of a major event since his victory at last year’s Australian Open. So far this 2011 season, Federer has won only one title, something that is unlikely to a player of his caliber.
“There is nothing to panic about. (The early defeat in Rome) will not affect my preparation and work for the French Open. I will be fine,” Federer was quoted as saying.
“It’s still important for me to get back to being No.1. I mentioned after Wimbledon it was a goal of mine. It’s still very possible. I think I can do it if I win one of those grand slams,” he added.
Federer, the 2009 French Open champion, will have a chance to increase his ranking points if he goes beyond the quarterfinal stages of both the Roland Garros and Wimbledon tournament.
The former world number one is expected to be the third seed in this year’s Roland Garros and could potentially meet top seed Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and second seed Novak Djokovic in the finals.
