Roger Federer want be on top for several years

Roger Federer has warned would-be challengers that he intends to stay at the top for several years to come.

Speaking to L'Equipe newspaper after being named as it's Champion of Champions for the third year running, the Swiss star said that at 26, he was injury-free and full of motivation.

"It's all to do with my preparation," he said. "The way that I train and get myself in top condition is very important.

"I have put the priority on longevity. I've always had an eye to the future and would like to continue playing as long as possible to play against as many generations as possible. I am in it for the long run."

A winner of three out of four Grand Slam titles in 2007, the Swiss player finished well ahead of American swimmer Michael Phelps and French world rally champion Sebastien Loeb in a vote by L'Equipe's journalists.

The only other sportsman to have won three times in succession was Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher in 2001-2003.

Looking back over 2007, Federer said his greatest satisfaction came from matching Bjorn Borg's record of winning Wimbledon five times in a row by defeating Rafael Nadal in a pulsating five-sets final.

"It was an incredible match against Nadal - in front of Borg who was there, Connors also and McEnroe - everyone was there. It was a magical moment for me.

"It felt like moving into another dimension and that I was no longer just the best player in the world, but a kind of legend. "Of course its bizarre to think of oneself as a legend, but that was the biggest moment of the year for me."

This year, for the first time, the editors at TENNIS have chosen only one Player of the Year. Rather than pick a man and a woman, we thought that a single award covering the entire pro game would be a more significant honor.

What we didn’t realize was how difficult this would make our selection process. Not only were there two strong candidates among the men—Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal both had historic

Turning to 2008, Federer said that winning a first French Open title was near the top of his list of priorities, but he said equaling and possibly passing Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles was even higher.

He is currently on 12 Grand Slam titles and a repeat of the last two years when on each occasion he won the Australian, Wimbledon and US Open titles would see him move ahead of the retired American.

Federer was speaking to L'Equipe in Dubai where he is preparing for the defence of his Australian Open title later this month.