Federer wins Kooyong Classic

Roger Federer [Images] completed his preparations for a tilt at Pete Sampras's [Images] record of 14 grand slam titles with an easy 6-1, 6-3 victory over Swiss compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka at the Kooyong Classic on Saturday.

Federer captured his second title in the eight-man invitational event, which he traditionally uses to fine tune his game before his Melbourne Park campaign. He also won in 2005.

Federer missed the tournament last year due to illness and was subsequently knocked out in the semi-finals of the Australian Open [Images].

After his 57-minute victory on Saturday, he said he was confident of adding to his three other Australian Open titles.

"I played plenty of matches, so that's not the issue; no health problems, feeling fresh and fit and ready to go and excited, so things are the way I was hoping them to be," the world number two told reporters.

"Last year was more just a race trying to get in shape, or in decent shape for the first round, so it is quite different.

"I couldn't really work on anything. I was just trying to hopefully hit a few times before Monday, and then ...just hoping I got through the first round and then sort of feel my way into the tournament.

"This time it's different, just because I've been playing plenty of matches ...(and I have) higher expectations than last year.

"I always feel on the day I'm going to play well at the slam, and it's going to take an incredible performance by somebody else to beat me."

Federer set the tone for the Kooyong final against his Beijing [Images] gold medal winning doubles partner early, breaking the 23-year-old Wawrinka in the first game.

He broke Wawrinka three times in the first set to take it 6-1 before he broke again early in the second set to take a 2-0 lead.

Wawrinka put up more of a fight after that, but by then the result was a seemingly foregone conclusion with the 27-year-old Federer sealing victory with a smash from the net after he had worked Wawrinka around the court.

In the third-place playoff, Spain's Fernando Verdasco used a booming serve and powerful forehand to beat Chile's Fernando Gonzalez [Images] 6-4, 6-3 in 47 minutes.

© Copyright 2009 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.