Melbourne : Life has changed so much for Roger Federer since his teary finish in last year's Australian Open final loss to Rafael Nadal.
Twelve months ago, the emphasis of his pre-tournament news conference was on his form, his recovery from illness and his prospects of equalling Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam singles titles.
Yesterday, two days before the start of the first major of 2010, the questions revolved around his recent experience as a dad — with an aside on his friendship with troubled golfer Tiger Woods.
Federer didn't once mention No 2-ranked Nadal, or No 3 Novak Djokovic, who upset him in the 2008 semifinals here, or No 4 Juan Martin del Potro, who surprised him in the last US Open final.
Nor was he asked about them. Defending champion Nadal and No 5 Andy Murray had both earlier been subjected to questions about who they thought was the favourite to win at Melbourne Park, and why. Not Federer.
Now that he's married, has twin daughters, and has won his 14th and 15th majors to beat Sampras' mark, Federer seems inclined to talk more broadly — about jetlag and how it affects the family, or whether he can stay awake late watching tennis on TV without losing too much sleep, for instance.
But he's certain that no change has diminished his desire to win more titles.
"The hunger is still there," he said. "I'm working as hard. I haven't been just babysitting, you know. I also like to go out in the morning, put in the big hours. I feel my game's really where it's supposed to be."
Exhibition game
Top-ranked Federer won't start his Australian Open campaign until Tuesday, so he had organised an exhibition event today to raise money for the victims of the Haiti earthquakes.
Nadal will start tomorrow, aiming for his first Grand Slam title since his previous trip to Australia. In 2008, he beat Federer at Wimbledon for his first major on grass. His win here 12 months ago was his first major title on hardcourts.
But it preceded one of his most unexpected Grand Slam losses. After four consecutive French Open titles, Nadal lost in the fourth round at Roland Garros last year to then No 23 Robin Soderling, giving Federer an easier passage than usual to his first major on clay and his 14th overall to match the record.
Nadal missed two months of the season due to knee problems, but still won five titles and helped Spain win the Davis Cup.
The six-time Grand Slam title winner knows he's not the favourite at Melbourne Park, conceding that No 1 Federer deserves that status, but doesn't think his chances of back-to-back Aussie titles should be discounted too much.
"I didn't have bad results last five months, no?" he said. "I didn't win. I didn't have perfect results. But I played. I was there all the tournaments.
"Sure, is true, playing against the top players I didn't have a very good results. But I was playing not very well but not bad. So just a little bit more, improvement will help."
Nadal opened this year by winning an exhibition tournament at Abu Dhabi, then reaching the final of the Qatar Open in nearby Doha. "I started the season really well, playing really well there in Abu Dhabi and Doha," he said. "The only way to have confidence is winning matches, winning important matches ... So I am in the really right way."
Last year, Nadal had to survive a marathon five-set semifinal win over fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco before outlasting Federer in a five-set final. His emotions were mixed between euphoria over his victory and compassion for Federer, who wept uncontrollably at the trophy presentation.
