IT is a Monday morning scene which many Scots will be familiar with. And I don’t just mean Andy Murray 12 months ago. Roger Federer woke up bleary eyed, cursing mixing his drinks a little bit too much, after celebrations in the wake of his record eighth Wimbledon men’s singles title which stretched until 5am. Remarkably cogent given the circumstances, the 35-year-old said he couldn’t wait to visit Scotland for the first time to take part in the ‘Andy Murray Live’ charity exhibition at the SSE Hydro in November. Good sport or not, the greatest player in the history of the game had no intention of giving his 30-year-old Scottish rival a one-off offer to win back his Wimbledon title on the evening.

“I’ve never been before,” said Federer, who met Murray in a reciprocal charity encounter in Zurich earlier in the year. “This is my first time.

“But no!” he added, jealously touching the trophy in front of him. “Now it’s in here, it’s mine, so we’re not putting it up for grabs now! Not in that one, quick match showdown.

“But we’re going to have a good time and I really think it’s wonderful what he’s doing in his philanthropic efforts and good causes,” he added. “I think we can do so much more in tennis. He was wonderful in Zurich. So many people walked away from it, telling me how much fun Andy actually was, what a great sport he was. So I was so happy he did that and I can’t wait to return the favour.”

As wild as the celebrations got on Sunday night, there was none of that staged, slightly awkward dancing at the Champions Ball with new women’s champion Garbine Muguruza. In truth, while Muguruza had played along by saying she was keen to see if Federer was as languid on the dancefloor as he is on court, the evening is essentially a dinner and no music is played. “My head’s ringing, I don’t know what I did last night,” admitted Federer, following up on a claim that he and his entourage ‘partied like rock stars’ following his epic Australian Open win back in January. “I drank too many types of drinks, I guess. After the ball we went to – what would you call it? I guess it’s a bar – and there were almost 30 to 40 friends that were there. So we had a great time. Got to bed at five, then woke up, and just didn’t feel good. It is only in the last hour or so I’m somewhat OK again.

“We [the men’s and women’s singles winners] didn’t dance,” he added. “There was no music. The occasion never really came. When you’re up on the stage and there’s no music whatsoever it’s hard to get going.

“But it was a great dinner. I always feel bad that we arrive so late. By the time I got there they were already on the main course, which is a bit unfortunate in my opinion. But I was happy to be there again.”

Federer, whose world ranking has climbed to No 3 this morning, has been a model of economy during 2017, losing just two matches all season long - to Evgeny Donskoy of Russia in Dubai and to Tommy Haas in Stuttgart - and even then he had match points for both. While he plans to play a heavier schedule in the latter part of the year, the Rogers Cup in Montreal is the only one he may sacrifice. He will be a hot favourite to make it Grand Slam No 20 at the US Open which begins next month, but the Swiss said he isn’t driven by any particular numerical target.

“The target now is to enjoy being Wimbledon champion for a year,” he said. “And Australian Open champion and you name it…So, I haven’t sets sights on a number of grand slams that I have to or want to achieve. I was very content at 17, I must tell you. Of course, I was going to be happier at 18 and I’m even happier at 19. But I’m playing for titles at this stage in my career; rankings not so much - unless I’m as close as I am right now. I just have to check the situation – if it’s worth it to run after it or not.”

As it happens, with Federer having no points at all to defend in the latter part of the year, he accepts it is a straight fight between him and his historical rival Nadal - who have shared the first three Grand Slams of the year for the first time since 2010 - to inherit Andy Murray’s top spot. Having already taken his Wimbledon title, in truth you suspect he quite fancies claiming that the place at the top of the rankings too.

“I think it’s going to be a three, four-way race or maybe a two-way race with me and Rafa at some stage when Andy is going to drop his world No 1 ranking,” said the Swiss. “If all of a sudden Andy starts winning again, we also have to win again. But at some stage if he starts dropping points, we’ll get there and I hope it’s me and not Rafa because it would mean a lot to me to get back to world No 1. I have to speak to the team and decide how much am I going to just chase it so maybe I get to world No 1 at least one more time in my career or is it actually a bigger deal to finish the year as world No 1.”

The Swiss will make time too after Flushing Meadows to play in the inaugural version of the Laver Cup, the Ryder Cup-style tournament between Europe and Rest of the World teams which he is tied into, although he said yesterday that Novak Djokovic would miss out as he is expecting another child and was waiting to hear on Murray’s status. “I am waiting for an answer,” said Federer. “It would be great to have him involved.”