Federer wins all-Swiss Kooyong final

Roger Federer has crushed his Olympic gold medal-winning doubles partner Stanislas Wawrinka to win the Australian Open warm-up event at Kooyong.

Federer, one away from equalling Pete Sampras’s record 14 grand slam titles, broke Wawrinka’s serve three times in the first seven games to win the all-Swiss final 6-1, 6-3.

He said he wanted to use every chance to build momentum for the season and put his friendship aside for 57 minutes against Wawrinka.

Federer also won the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament in 2005, the year he lost in the Australian Open semifinals to eventual champion Marat Safin.

With the Australian Open starting on Monday, Federer didn’t want to waste a minute of preparation time.

“New season, big opportunities for me,” he said. “I’m chasing a lot of records.”

Federer had three wins in the eight-man draw this week and said he saved his best for last, ripping some trademark backhand winners down the line and rarely letting Wawrinka get into the points.

“Sorry Stan!” he said. “It’s a wonderful preparation for the Australian Open. I’m excited. It was serious, not crazy serious. We have to be tough against each other, but we played some great tennis.”

Federer and his Davis Cup teammate frequently hit together and the No. 2-ranked Federer considers himself a mentor and “like a brother” to Wawrinka. They combined to win the Olympic doubles final in Beijing in August.