Roger Federer is in reach of 1,000 career match wins as he kicks off 2015 season Down Under

Tennis superstar Roger Federer is kicking off his 2015 season in Australia at the Brisbane International.

At 33, he’s ranked number 2 in the world and another strong year would only enhance his legend.

Should he be the last man standing at the event, it would be his 83rd title and make him only the third player in the Open Era (since 1968) to reach the 1,000 match wins milestone. Only Jimmy Connors (1,253) and Ivan Lendl (1,071) have done so.

“I would love to win this event,” Federer told reporters Saturday on the banks of the Brisbane River. “I was close last year, after I had had a good week. I always like lifting trophies in a place that I have never been able to. I am unbelievably pumped up for this week. It’s a really good field, with a lot of promising players.”

Federer was runner-up last year to fellow former number one Lleyton Hewitt.

“I really had a great time here as a player and also as a family here last year,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t wait to be back. It really kicked off a great season for me in 2014. It was a good one to basically to the end, with victory in the Davis Cup.”