Players Under the Microscope / Editor / 25 June 2007 /

Roger Federer admits he still fears suffering a first-round shock at Wimbledon, despite holding a 28-match winning streak at the All England Club and winning the last four titles.

The Swiss master burst onto the scene in 2001 when he knocked seven-time champion Pete Sampras out in the fourth round at SW19 - only to lose to Tim Henman in the quarter-finals.

The following year, Federer suffered what has turned out to be his last defeat on grass, 49 matches ago, when Mario Ancic stunned him in the first round.

The 25-year-old has since gone on to win four successive Wimbledon titles and he will be trying to emulate the great Bjorn Borg this time around, but admits he will not be taking anything for granted when he takes to the court.

"The worry has crossed my mind every single time," the world number one said. "That is something that belongs to tennis.

"You don't walk out maybe like a boxer and you're like, 'I'm not going to get hit. I'm going to knock him out right away'.

"I'm confident, but still that crosses your mind. You don't want to be the one defending champion that loses first.

"But of course I'm focused on the big picture, trying to play well. There's a huge excitement for me every time walking through the corridors, down on Centre Court, seeing the pictures, the board on the left-hand side with the names, see the trophy behind you. It's just an incredible walk. It gets you totally excited about the championships."

Federer takes on Russia's Teimuraz Gabashvili in the first match on Centre Court, weather permitting, and punters appear to have no such concerns over the top seed's progression.

Massively odds-on to book his place in the next round, Federer is strongly fancied to win in straight sets - priced at 1.14.

In the handicap market, the four-time champion is also fancied to make short work of the world number 86 as 'Federer -8.5 games' is the favourite at 1.7, with 'Gabashvili +8.5 games' available at 2.2.

In the bigger picture, punters are expecting Federer to equal Borg's record of five titles on the bounce as he is the overwhelming favourite at 1.45, while he can be supported at 5.5 to cruise through the two weeks without dropping a set.

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