Federer will begin the defence of his Australian Open title next week when he faces Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene in the first round, a match he is expected to breeze through.

But last year he dropped a set in the opening round to qualifier Jurgen Melzer, showing signs of ring-rust after six months out of the game.

And the Swiss admitted that he did not expect to go as far as he did and thought he would get knocked out by one of the top players such as Rafael Nadal.

“I had a great four to six weeks of tennis training and many months before that which got me ready for the training,” Federer said today ahead of the Australian Open draw.

“I felt like physically I might be alright but I thought the game and the wins were just not going to come.

“I was probably going to lose at some stage, the quarter-finals or the semi-finals at best because I would just run into a red-hot [Novak] Djokovic, [Andy] Murray or Nadal and my game wasn’t going to be good enough. But it was!”

Federer won the first of his two 2017 Grand Slams in Melbourne, going on to win Wimbledon for a record eighth time later that year.

But he was made to work especially had for his Australian Open triumph, with three of his last four matches going to five sets.

“I had all these great five-setters and of course at the end that epic against Rafa,” Federer added.

“The fifth set was maybe the best set I ever played. 

“After six months off, what a comeback that was.

“It was the highlight of the year. It even beats Wimbledon and all the other wins I had last year.”