Roger Federer boards a private jet to Melbourne ahead of Australian Open, after first title win of 2019
- Roger Federer left the Hopman Cup in Perth and traveled to Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open in style, landing in a private jet on Sunday.
- Federer is in top form as he helped Switzerland win the Hopman Cup this week.
- It is the "perfect preperation" for the first major of the 2019 tennis season, according to CNN, but Federer believes his rival Novak Djokovic should be regarded as the tournament favorite.
- Federer said Djokovic is "hard to beat" and has enjoyed a remarkable last six months.
Roger Federer is hoping to win a seventh Australian Open this month and has arrived at the tournament in style, landing in a private jet in Melbourne on Sunday.
Federer's 2019 tennis season has gotten off to the strongest possible start as he helped Switzerland retain the Hopman Cup this week.
Federer teamed up with Belinda Bencic and slayed a British team consisting of Katie Boulter and Cameron Norrie, the American team Serena Williams and Frances Tiafoe, and, on the final day of the Perth tournament, a German team of Angelique Kerber and Alexander Zverev.
Federer's performance-level was "the perfect preparation for the Australian Open," according to CNN, and the 20-time Grand Slam champion himself described "the whole match and the whole week" as one giant "thrill."
Federer will contest the Australian Open next and the competition is little more than a week away.
It is a tournament Federer has dominated in recent years having won back-to-back majors at Melbourne Park in 2017 and 2018, and though he could make it three in a row in the coming month, he is wary of the threat posed by the current ATP world number one ranked male tennis player Novak Djokovic.
"No doubt about it, Novak is the favourite," he said, according to Sky Sports News. "The guy had a super, super strong last five or six months of the year. With his class, once he gets his groove back, he is hard to beat."
As for his own chances of success, Federer said: "I'm one of the top 10 favorites and so are many others. I don't know the draw yet, I don't know who my first round opponent is, I don't know if I play on Monday or day or night."
Read more: Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer in one of the best tennis matches of 2018
"In terms of who is going to win it, we know who the usual suspects are and I am part of that bunch."
Regardless, Federer left Perth and arrived in Melbourne in style as he travelled in a private jet, according to the Daily Mail.
Federer, with his family on board, landed on Sunday. He was dressed in his trademark Uniqlo gear, and was photographed alongside his wife Mirka, and their children Myla Rose, Charlene Riva, Leo, and Lennart.
The 2019 Australian Open begins on Monday, January 14 and ends on Sunday, January 27.