Roger Federer is delighted to be welcoming his first child while still in the prime¹ of his tennis career, the Swiss star said on Saturday.

"I always had the dream that if I have a child I hope I have it early enough so he can see me playing," said Federer, who announced on Thursday that he and girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec are expecting their first baby this summer. "So this is very exciting."

Despite the inevitable² disruptions in a household that includes a baby, Federer said he didn't think his tennis would suffer, and he'd have plenty of time for family life.

"I think it's not going to really disturb my mindset on tennis a whole lot," he said. "I've always made sure that my schedule is (to) get away from tennis a little bit and then come back when I'm ready to play again.

"I think it's going to be pretty much the same. I don't really have to adjust a whole lot. If it does something to me, I think it's going to motivate me to play for a long time."

Federer, 27, was cagey on exactly when the baby is due, saying only in the summer.

"Summer is a big word, yeah," said Federer. "I'm not going to say any more."

In the meantime³, Federer said he was enjoying the building excitement.

"For me, this is not a massive⁴ shock, but when it does happen, it defintely changes your mindset. All of a sudden you're hoping everything goes well, whereas⁵ before you're just joking about it.

"From this respect, I'm excited that the baby comes out healthy and everything goes OK.

"Other than that, it's just happiness."

瑞士网坛名将罗杰•费德勒于上周六称，他很高兴即将迎来第一个孩子，而且自己还在事业的黄金时期。

他说：“我一直有个梦想，那就是如果有孩子的话，希望能早一些，这样他就能看我打球了。这真是令人激动。”费德勒于上周四宣布他与女友米尔卡•瓦夫琳奈克将于今年夏天迎来他们的第一个孩子。

尽管有了孩子后会有一些不可避免的干扰，但费德勒称这不会影响他打球，另外他将会有很多时间来陪家人。

他说：“我觉得这不会使我在网球上分心。我在时间安排上总会给自己留点空闲，等我准备再上场时，我又会回来。”

“我觉得不会有什么不同。我真的不需要去做太多的调整。如果要说真对我有什么影响的话，那应该是孩子的降生会激励我打更长的时间。”

27岁的费德勒没有透露孩子确切的预产期，只是说在今年夏天。

他说：“夏天已经够具体的了，我不会再说什么。”

费德勒还称他现在很享受这种慢慢积累的兴奋感。

“对于我来说，这并不是一个特大惊喜，但是当它真的发生时，那肯定会改变你的想法。突然之间你会希望一切都能进展良好，尽管你之前还在开着玩笑。”

“从这个方面说，如果孩子生下来很健康，一切顺利，那我就会很激动。”

“除此之外，那就是幸福了。”

Vocabulary:

prime: the period or phase of ideal or peak condition（全盛时期，颠峰时期：处于理想或巅峰状态的时期或阶段）

cagey:wary; careful:（小心的；谨慎的）