Flushed with the success of a third consecutive Wimbledon triumph, Roger Federer is ready to clear his diary in order to win the only Grand Slam to elude him so far.
The Swiss moved into the company of tennis greats Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras, the only two men to have previously won a hat-trick of Wimbledon titles in the open era, by thrashing American Andy Roddick 6-2, 7-6, 6-4 in Sunday's final.
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"My motivation is very big to eventually get the French Open," said Federer on Monday, addressing reporters in his unassuming Wimbledon flat little more than an ace's length away from the scene of his victory.
"For me that is the big goal. I know I can always win the other Grand Slams if I'm feeling good and I've shown it before, whereas at the French I've only given myself one chance.
"This one will be a big goal until the end of my career and I hope I can achieve the dream."
The world number one lost to teenage Spanish claycourt specialist Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of the Paris Grand Slam last month but it was still his best showing so far at Roland Garros.
"I can see myself considering changing my schedule for the French," he said.
"I would either just have to skip a few tournaments or totally rearrange my scheduling, meaning playing more tournaments on clay.
"I only feel like I've given myself a chance once and I was awfully close even though I didn't play my best. So it gives me a lot of confidence and belief that I can actually do it."
FATHER'S PRESENCE
Despite only two hours' sleep, Federer looked utterly relaxed as he held court dressed in a fashionable brown V-neck jersey over a crisp white shirt and surrounded by the newspapers proclaiming his greatness together with a replica of the Challenge Cup trophy.
"I need those pictures to get a spectator's point of view, to give myself the idea of how it really was and remember," said the Swiss, who plans to take five weeks off before focusing on his defence of the US Open which starts on August 29.
Having won 21 consecutive finals and five Grand Slam events in all, he admits he is running out of room to house all his silverware.
"The two Wimbledon trophies and the US Open are in my dining room, the [2004] Australian Open is in my office," he said. "Maybe this one is going to push out the US Open. I will put that in the lounge."
Federer gives some of his lesser trophies to his parents and on Sunday he was watched on Centre Court by his father for the first time in a Wimbledon final.
"That was nice. He is very enthusiastic and hyper when he comes to watch tennis," said the 23-year-old. "He hasn't changed since I was a little boy.
"He still gets mad at me when I miss a backhand or a forehand but now I can accept it because I know he doesn't know as much about the game as I thought he knew!"
