Roger Federer said on Tuesday he was not that bothered about Serbia's Novak Djokovic closing in on his ranking as world number two.
![Roger Federer of Switzerland returns the ball against Britain's Andy Murray during the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, China, Friday Nov. 14, 2008. [Agencies]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20081119/000802c98ccc0a8dc36d46.jpg "Roger Federer of Switzerland returns the ball against Britain's Andy Murray during the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, China, Friday Nov. 14, 2008. [Agencies]") |
|
Roger Federer of Switzerland returns the ball against Britain's Andy Murray during the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, China, Friday Nov. 14, 2008. [Agencies] |
"I'm going to sleep well for a month. He (Djokovic) is not going to pass me anytime soon," Federer told a news conference.
"For me, honestly, ranking two, three, four, five, 25, it doesn't really matter a whole lot, you know. For me it is either number one or being in the main draw," added the Swiss.
Djokovic, who won the Masters Cup in Shanghai on Sunday, is just 10 points shy of Federer in the world rankings.
Federer was in the Malaysian capital for an exhibition event which also featured world number 10 James Blake and former tennis greats John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg.
Last week Federer, complaining of injury and a stomach bug, lost to Briton Andy Murray at the Masters Cup in Shanghai.
The Shanghai loss was Federer's 15th in a season when he lost his world number one ranking and Wimbledon title to Spain's Rafael Nadal, prompting speculation that he had lost his edge.
Federer, who has won 13 grand slams, told reporters that at 27 he was still confident he had "many more years" of tennis left in him.
(Agencies via China Daily November 19, 2008)