Federer regained the world number two ranking in China last week

Roger Federer insists he is ready to end 2010 in style as he prepares to make his first appearance at the Stockholm Open in a decade.

The world number two lost the final of the Shanghai Masters to Andy Murray on Sunday, and begins in Sweden against American Taylor Dent on Thursday.

Stockholm is the first of four events he will play over the next six weeks.

"I'm certainly not yearning for the year to be over, I'm very positive for the rest of the season," said Federer.

"I had a bit of an off day in the Shanghai final. It's a pity, but Murray pushed me to that. Mentally I have a lot left for the end of the year."

Federer, 29, has captured 16 Grand Slam titles in his career but has won only two tournaments this year, the Australian Open in January and the Cincinnati Masters in August.

606: DEBATE Can Roger Federer win another Slam? Maybe, but his era is definitely over Catalan Power

"I've played pretty well since Wimbledon," he said. "I hope to go deep into this event and hold up the trophy at the end of the week."

He added: "I was not too tired after Shanghai and didn't have any crazy-hard matches last week, I am confident I'll be in perfect shape when I start."

After the departure of sixth seed Feliciano Lopez on Tuesday after his first-round loss to German Florent Mayer, third seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic lost on Wednesday.

A below par Berdych lost 6-1 6-4 to Finland's Jarko Nieminen.

Federer dropped out of the world's top two in July for the first time since 2003 but returned to second spot following his appearance in the Shanghai final, and he has his sights firmly on regaining the number one ranking, which he held for a record 237 weeks.

"It's not that important to be two, three or four," he said. "For me it's either number one in the world or everything else.

"After being number one for so long and having been there it's obviously the best feeling to be there. When you're not ranked number one in the world you obviously try to get back there."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version