Roger Federer: 'Ivan Ljubicic and I made perfect start, I can chase Major titles'

Roger Federer made a winning start with his new coach Ivan Ljubicic, beating Tobias Kamke 6-2, 6-1 in the second round in Brisbane. The defending champion looked good on the court, dominating both serve and return to seal the deal in no time and advance into the quarters. After the match, Federer said that he was pleased with his performance and the work Ljubicic and him did during the pre-season, setting high goals that year. 

''It was a great feeling, especially with the memories from last year when I scored my 1000th victory in the final. I'm happy to be back in Brisbane. I didn't expect to play so well today, and I want to thank fans for coming out. I wish to stay injury-free and enjoy my time on the court. Also, I will give my best to win a Major this year. I knew for quite some time that Stefan Edberg wouldn't work with me after 2015, and I had enough time to make the next move.

Roger Federer spoke about his new coach at the beginning of 2016.

Severin, my coach, has been with me for eight years now; he's also the long-term Davis Cup captain of Switzerland. Still, I feel like it is always nice to have somebody else as well. I always thought a lot about Ivan, we have played against each other many times and I was happy that he was available at the end of the year. That's why I called him up and said, 'Shall we give it a go?'

He was very excited. We are looking forward to the year, and this is our first win together; it's a great start. I think it's a tough draw to have Grigor in quarters, or my second round essentially. I played against him in semis last year, I think, and I played a great match. He's got a big year ahead of him; I'm sure he wants to make his way back into the top-10, if not beyond that, and this is also the beginning for him. Maybe it's an early part of the year to play him already, and we will see how it goes. If I play like I did tonight, I hope I can do well," Roger Federer said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3eDjdVS