31 Jan 2010

Federer looking to extend British misery

6:41 pm on 31 January 2010

Roger Federer expects to extend his record of grand slam tennis wins to 16 titles tonight when the Swiss great takes on Scotland's Andy Murray in the Australian Open final.

It's another number preying on British minds - it's been 74 years since a British man's won a major title.

Federer beat Murray to win the 2008 US Open, Murray's only grand slam final before tonight, and after sealing his own finals place in Melbourne, Federer poked fun at the pressure on Murray.

Speaking courtside right after his straight sets semi-final win over Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Federer joked that it's been "what, 150,000 years?" since the last Brit won anything.

In fact it was Englishman Fred Perry in 1936, taking out his third straight - and last - Wimbledon crown, and when questioned by the English press Federer admitted he could understand the pressure Murray's under but said he thought the 22-year-old was coping really well with it.

However he's determined to keep that pressure on Murray and is confident of victory. The match begins after half past nine.