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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 28 JUNE 2015 55 Sport TENNIS No long goodbye for Federer Roger Federer could keep everyone guessing until the last moment about his retirement THE seven-time Wimbledon champion stressed it would not be imminent as he spoke on Saturday ahead of his bid to land yet more glory on the Lon- don grass courts. But after speaking to Stefan Edberg, part of his coaching team, about the way to bow out, Federer has decided the best method may be to hold back the big announcement. Edberg, a player Federer as a boy adored, said farewell to his playing career in 1996, and it was a long goodbye. "I think he announced at the beginning of the year that he was going to retire at the end of the year. He thought that was a bit rough. He had a farewell at every single place he went to. He said that eventually it was just a bit too much. I don't think I am going to do that," Federer said. "I haven't thought about it a whole lot, to be honest. I don't want to go there with my thoughts because the more I think about it, the closer I am to retirement. "But everyone has done it dif- ferently. Clearly I need to think about it eventually, but not for the moment." With his 34th birthday ap- proaching in August, Federer fervently believes he can add to his 17 grand slam titles. He claimed an eighth title at the Halle grass-court event in Germany last week, and would dearly love to pull one clear of the Wimbledon record he shares with Pete Sampras by matching that haul at Wimble- don. "The game's good. I've been playing well for a year now. It's been a good last week, as well, in Halle," Federer said. He expects the decision to add a third week on the tennis calendar between the French Open and Wimbledon this year to have benefits. "It's probably been the best preparation I've ever had for Wimbledon, for obvious rea- sons, because we have a week more on the grass. I'm sure I'm not the only one saying that this year. I'm sure everybody will say the same," Federer said. "Winning Halle has given me the extra confidence I guess it's going to take for me to win this title here." Federer was edged out in five sets by Novak Djokovic in last year's Wimbledon final. "I wasn't playing great, and I made the finals. Whereas this year I feel my game is better," Federer said. "If I do look at last year, I see more the positives than actually the heartbreaking loss in the final." Federer faces Bosnian Damir Dzumhur in his first-round match on Tuesday, while Rafael Nadal, who fell in the fourth round to Australian livewire Nick Kyrgios last year, tackles Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci. The man who has inherited Nadal 's French Open crown, Stan Wawrinka, makes a tilt at back-to-back grand slam titles. On Monday, he will take on Portugal 's Joao Sousa. Had it not been for Wimble- don's strict all-whites rule, all eyes might have been on Wawrinka's tennis kit, after he donned a peculiar, widely mocked, pair of red, white and grey shorts in taking the Roland Garros title. The 30-year-old Swiss can see the funny side. "I think it was great that I won the French Open, because at least it's a positive story for my shorts," Wawrinka said. "But that's it. Now we are back to normal, back to all-white." Roger Federer Feud over female Davis Cup captain damaging, Nadal says THE feud between the Spanish ten- nis federation and top players over Gala Leon's appointment as the na- tion's first female Davis Cup captain is damaging for the sport and could deter sponsors, Rafa Nadal said on Saturday. Nadal and compatriots like David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez and Tommy Robredo reacted with disbelief when the federation (RFET) announced Leon's appointment in September, prompting accusations they object- ed to her because she is a woman. Leon, who had a career-high rank- ing of 27 as a player, was a surprise choice to replace Carlos Moya, who stood down after the five-times Davis Cup winners were relegated from the World Group following de- feat against Brazil in a playoff. The spat, which has largely been conducted through the media, has put the players' participation in next month's Group I second round match against Russia in doubt, when Spain need a win to secure a place in the playoffs for the elite World Group. "The situation is terrible," Nadal told a news conference ahead of next week's Wimbledon tournament. "All these things that are happen- ing cause damage to tennis, to the desire sponsors might have to in- vest in our sport, to the excitement that kids might have in continuing to play," added the 14-times grand slam champion. Finding a solution to the standoff has been complicated by a conflict between the government sports council (CSD), which has also ques- tioned Leon's appointment, and RFET president Jose Luis Escanue- la. Spain's disciplinary committee for sports (TAD) last week suspended Escanuela for one month for failing to collaborate in a probe into the federation's finances. The CSD says it is attempting to track down what happened to at least 700,000 euros (£496,377) the RFET paid out in transactions linked to the Spanish Tennis Foundation and the Spanish Tennis Observatory. Nadal did not say whether he would make himself available for the July 17-19 match against Russia in Vladivostok but hinted that his participation was unlikely. "A country with many players in the top 100 should not be in the second division and be experienc- ing the situation that probably will happen with the Russia tie," he told reporters. "Personally, I find it a shame and frustrating that it is like this. "The Spanish tennis federation for us is nothing, we don't depend on the federation." Gala Leon