June 10, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 05, 1429

PARIS, June 9: Roger Federer is counting on the green, green grass of Wimbledon to help him bury the memory of the worst defeat of his career and a miserable first half of the year.

The world No.1 limped out of Roland Garros on Sunday after a humbling 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 defeat at the hands of claycourt nemesis Rafael Nadal in the French Open final, and all the signs are that the gap between the two is widening on the dusty surface.

He is scheduled to play his traditional Wimbledon warm-up in the German town of Halle next week and then head to southwest London where he has won for the last five years.

Federer insisted that he could find positives to take out of his fortnight in Paris and that psychologically he would not be damaged by such a heavy defeat.

“I mean, after a loss like this you don’t want to play Rafa again tomorrow, that’s for sure, you know,” he said. “But I’ve beaten Rafa 6 Love in a set and I’ve beaten him in finals before.

“I’ve beaten him also quite comfortably on previous occasions. Didn’t really give me the edge on clay against him, you know.

“I haven’t lost on grass for, what is it, five years now, six years? I still definitely feel very strong about my chances and being the big favourite, going into grass,” Federer added.

“They are so far away, grass and clay, that losing in four or five or, you know, no chance like today, I don’t think it has a big effect on me mentally.”

Sunday’s defeat was the eighth of the season for Federer and he has won just the one title – at Estoril – when opponent Nikolay Davydenko pulled out injured before the final.

Federer says he still has hopes of one day winning the one Grand Slam title that is missing from his collection, but with Nadal five years his junior and likely to improve still further, the reality is that the Swiss maestro will need to claim his “best ever” status elsewhere.—AFP