Will Federer have the stomach for a title run?

By Lisa Dillman

Jan. 13, 2008 12 AM PT

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MELBOURNE, Australia -- Has the severe stomach virus that hindered Roger Federer’s Australian Open preparation given hope to mere mortals, known as the rest of the tour?

“I will tell you in two weeks,” said No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal.

Federer’s march toward history -- he is two short of tying Pete Sampras’ record 14 Grand Slam tournament titles -- will continue with a first-round match Tuesday against Diego Hartfield of Argentina to start the Australian Open. Tournament officials gave Federer, who will be aiming for his third straight title and fourth overall here, a bit of an assist by giving him a start on Day 2.

He pulled out of a local exhibition a few days ago because of the virus. But he was able to hit on the main show court at Melbourne Park for about an hour and half Saturday night, testing the new surface, according to his agent Tony Godsick.

“He is slowly getting better,” Godsick said. “Certainly not the best way to prepare for a Slam, but he has been doing everything he can to get over it.”

Federer’s second-round match could be a trickier proposition, against either Fabrice Santoro of France or American John Isner. The hard-serving Isner won a set against Federer at the U.S. Open, one of only two sets Federer lost last year in New York. And Santoro is a player who can create trouble for even the healthiest of players.

-- Lisa Dillman

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Australian Open seeds

Top 32 seeds for the Australian Open, which begins today and runs through Jan. 27:

1. Roger Federer, Switzerland

2. Rafael Nadal, Spain

3. Novak Djokovic, Serbia

4. Nikolay Davydenko, Russia

5. David Ferrer, Spain

6. Andy Roddick, United States

7. Fernando Gonzalez, Chile

8. Richard Gasquet, France