By Chris Oddo | Saturday, January 3, 2015

 

Roger Federer will begin his 2015 as the top seed at the Brisbane International, just four wins from career win No. 1000.

Photo Source: Chris Hyde/Getty

Roger Federer will open the season at Brisbane this year, and with it Federer’s never-ending quest for milestone victories will continue as well.

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Federer will bid to become the third player in ATP history to reach the 1,000-win mark in Brisbane, joining Jimmy Connors (1253) and Ivan Lendl (1071) as the only players to have reached that rarefied region of the ledger.

But more important for the world No. 2 will be maintaining the form that took him to the cusp of an 18th Grand Slam title last year at Wimbledon. With a relatively tricky draw that could see him face Gilles Simon in the quarterfinals, Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals and either Kei Nishikori or Milos Raonic in the final, Federer will have to be sharp to get it done.

See the Brisbane ATP Draw Here

Last year he performed well in his Brisbane debut by reaching the final without dropping a set, but he played a puzzling final, committing a bevy of errors in an unsightly loss to Lleyton Hewitt.

"I was close and was the big favorite going into the final," Federer told the tournament's website. "I just lost rhythm at the very end of the tournament."

But that was a year ago, when Federer was still demoing a newer larger-sized racquet head and his newborn wanderlust for the net was in its infant stage.

This year, Federer is in tune with his body, his gear and his game, as he heads into a fresh season with the strong tailwind of a first career Davis Cup title at his back. And he’s ready to go, despite the short off-season that by many standards was more long weekend than vacation.

“I don’t see this as a preparation necessarily,” Federer said. “I’m playing here to win.”