Federer is confident
Roger Federer is confident that is form is good and that he can win the Wimbledon title for an eighth time in his career.
The 32-year-old’s career had appeared to be on the wane in the last couple of years, largely because of a troublesome back injury, but Federer now thinks he is injury-free and playing some great tennis again.
The Swiss star, who is seeded fourth for this year’s Wimbledon, has won 17 Grand Slams during his career but none since he beat Andy Murray in the SW19 final two years ago.
However, Federer insisted: “I feel like I’m a contender for the tournament. If things click here, I should be able to win the tournament; whereas at the French Open, I feel like I’m slightly more dependent on Rafael Nadal.
I feel like I’m a contender for the tournament. Roger Federer
“When I play at Wimbledon, it’s more on my racquet. As soon as that’s the case, you are more confident in your chances. It’s a pleasure being healthy and really fit and eager to give it a go again.
“This year I feel all the options are there: return, serve, serve and volley, my backhand – everything is working to my liking. For that reason, I feel I’m a bit more relaxed mentally because I know it is there.”
Federer claimed his third straight Halle title earlier this month and is 11/2 to win Wimbledon outright. He can also be backed at 2/11 to beat Paolo Lorenzi in three sets in the first round at the third Grand Slam of the year.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray has been drawn against the Belgian David Goffin in the first round at Wimbledon as he attempts to win the tournament for the second year in a row.
The Scot has been drawn in the opposite half of the draw to world number one Rafael Nadal, with the Spaniard set to play Martin Klizan in the first round.
Top seed Novak Djokovic faces Andrey Golubev while Roger Federer starts against Paolo Lorenzi.
Goffin reached the third round at Wimbledon two years ago and won through to the fourth round of the French Open in 2012.
Of the other British players in the draw, James Ward opens against 17th seed Mikhail Youhzny while Daniel Cox and Kyle Edmunds face Jeremy Chardy and Andreas Haider-Maurer respectively.
Meanwhile, in the women’s tournament, top seed Serena Williams will play Anna Tatishvili in the first round, while second seed Li Na will face Paula Kania.
British wildcard Samantha Murray has been handed a high-profile opener against the French Open champion Maria Sharapova, while Heather Watson will play Alja Tomljanovic.
Fellow Britons, Tara Moore and Naomi Broady play Vera Zvonareva and Timea Babos respectively.
Murray is 10/3 t to win the men’s title at Wimbledon, while Djokovic is available at 7/4. Serena Williams can be backed at 11/8 to win the women’s title, with Sharapova available at 11/2.
Murray’s possible route
- Round One: David Goffin (Belgium, ranked 104)
- Round Two: Pablo Andjujar (Spain, 79)
- Round Three: Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain, 28)
- Round Four: Fabio Fognini (Italy, 15)
- Quarter-final: David Ferrer (Spain, 7)
- Semi-final: Novak Djokovic (Serbia, 2)
- Final: Rafael Nadal (Spain, 1)
Murray became Britain’s first male singles champion since 1936 last year, and he will return to the scene of his triumph at 13:00 BST.
“I don’t know how I’m going to handle the situation; no one does,” Murray told BBC Sport.
“It will be interesting for me to see how I deal with it.”
Top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia and China’s Australian Open champion Li Na are also in action on day one, along with six other Britons.
Li, the second seed, will play Poland’s Paula Kania in the second match on Centre Court, before Djokovic, last year’s runner-up, takes on Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan.
Two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka, Queen’s Club champion Grigor Dimitrov and former Wimbledon semi-finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are the leading names in action on Court One.
All eyes will be on Centre Court, however, when Murray fulfils the tradition of all returning champions by getting play up and running in the famous arena.
“If you’ve done it once, there is no reason you can’t do it again,” he said.
“Each year I’ve played at Wimbledon, I’ve got better. It’s been slow but steady progress.
“Obviously it’s going to be tough to top winning the tournament but, if I can play like I did last year, I’ll definitely be in with a chance.”
Goffin, 23, is ranked 104 in the world and has won just two matches at Wimbledon, with his best Grand Slam effort a fourth-round place at the French Open in 2012.
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