Roger Federer has insisted that he never expected to turn his Wimbledon dream into a reality.

Since his first appearance in 1999, Federer has reached nine finals, winning seven of them, but the Swiss has revealed that he never expected to emulate his heroes when he first started playing tennis.

The 33-year-old is quoted by The Mirror as saying: "The dream was to win Wimbledon or reach the world number one spot.

"I never thought I could be as strong as a Becker, an Edberg, a Sampras. I dreamed about: 'Game, set and match, I won Wimbledon and I was on my knees'. However, I never thought it could be a reality."

Federer plays 20th seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the fourth round on Monday.