Federer arrives confident, ready to reclaim No 1

Some may have expected a newly dethroned Roger Federer to be dejected, daunted or reticent when he faced a media horde eager to ask if his era of dominance is over.

But the Swiss racket wizard, who will lose the world No 1 crown he has worn for five years to Spanish pit bull Rafael Nadal when the newest ATP rankings are released on Aug 18, is in high spirits. He says it is just matter of time before he is back on top, and a gold medal at the Beijing Games will blow the clarion of his comeback.

"Obviously, I am planning to take back world No 1 this year," Federer said at a press conference yesterday. "I lost some matches that I should not lose. It hurts, but it depends on how Rafael plays and how I play. We are very close, so I hope I could get my No 1 ranking back in a couple of weeks. I know I can do it, and otherwise maybe 2009, we'll see what happens."