Federer: Wimbledon more important to me

Swiss ace Roger Federer would prefer winning Wimbledon than regaining his No 1 ranking.

Speaking at the press conference for the Showdown of Champions Kuala Lumpur 2008 yesterday, Federer expressed his special love for Wimbledon which he says means more to him in tennis than anything else.

"Wimbledon is something special. There is no substitute for it," said Federer, who lost his top ranking to Spain's Rafael Nadal a few months ago.

"While I would also love to beat Pete Sampras' Grand Slam record of 14 titles, and also to regain my No 1 ranking, I place winning another Wimbledon title above all else," said Federer ahead of tonight's showdown at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

Federer will share the spotlight with two other former Wimbledon champions, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg in the Showdown of Champions.
James Blake will make up the quartet who will play two singles matches and one doubles tonight.

"It's  going to be an exciting match for Malaysian fans as they will witness two generations of players in action," said McEnroe.

"Players now days are so fast and hit the ball even more powerful than during my time. I also believe that there are personalities in the men's game, much more than in the women's. We must capitalise on this as we can bring more fans to the game.

Meanwhile, Federer will have a rare meet the fans session at the Petronas Twin Towers lobby from 11.30am-12.25pm today. Blake, meanwhile, will conduct clinic with the national juniors at the Tennis Court at Mandarin Oriental Hotel at Jalan Ampang at 11.45am.

Tennis fans in Malaysia will also be treated to entertainment levels of mega proportions when they attend the Showdown of Champions where one lucky fan will drive away with a brand new Proton Satria Neo.

Aside from being thrilled by the skills of world-class tennis players, attendees of the event will be awed by the stunning performances of the country's top three divas.

Local stars Jaclyn Victor, Ning Baizura and Ella have agreed to perform and do their own bit of entertaining the fans during the Showdown of Champions. The stars will be performing a pre- tennis
concert and will perform between game changeovers during the actual matches throughout the night.

The Distinguished Event Patron of the event is Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor, the wife of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Tickets for the Showdown are available at http://www.showdownkl2008.com

In conjunction with the Showdown of Champions, an Online Charity Auction has been launched, with all the proceeds going to selected charitable organisations.

Items for the Auction are anticipated to stir up a frenzy of bidding in this first of a kind tennis charity initiative for Malaysia which will give Malaysian fans the opportunity to bid for once in a lifetime autographed tennis items and meet the player experiences.

The Online Auction and the website address is http://integrated.imgecommerce.com/kl.htm