'Woods will be back soon'

Paris - Roger Federer says he's spoken to his friend Tiger Woods by phone and predicts the troubled golf great will be back soon "as the wonderful golfer we know."

The record 15-time Grand Slam winner said in an interview published on Friday that Woods' car accident in November and subsequent reports about his private life have been hard on the golfer and his family.

Federer told French sports daily L'Equipe that he had expressed his support, and said Woods' troubles were "instructive."

"The tabloids are going crazy, sponsor contracts are falling apart ... I've always been aware that the image you patiently construct for an entire career can be ruined in a minute," Federer was quoted as saying. "It scares you a bit, but that's the way things are."

Woods hasn't been seen in public since the accident, and other friends have said they have tried - unsuccessfully - to reach him.

"Tiger needs calm. And soon he'll become the wonderful golfer that we know again," Federer said.