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WIMBLEDON, England—Bjorn Borg and Novak Djokovic say
Roger Federer’s reign at Wimbledon is in jeopardy. Pete
Sampras and Rafael Nadal say Federer remains the man to
beat on grass.
“It’s
maybe a time where some people talk a little bit too
much,” Federer said Sunday, 24 hours before playing the
first Center Court match as he begins his pursuit of a
sixth consecutive Wimbledon title.
That
would equal the record established by William Renshaw,
the champion in 1881-86. Since the early 1900s, Federer
and Borg (1976-80) are the only men to win Wimbledon
five times in a row. Federer’s 59-match winning streak
on grass is the longest in the 40-year Open era.
Yet
there has been plenty of debate the past two weeks
regarding whether Federer is this year’s favorite. It
seems everyone but old Willie Renshaw has weighed in on
the subject.
Nobody
disputes the 26-year-old Federer has struggled in recent
months. For only the second time since early 2003, he
has been beaten at two consecutive major tournaments. He
has lost eight matches this year, only one less than in
all of 2007. And he endured his most lopsided Grand-Slam
defeat in the French Open final two weeks ago, winning
only four games against Nadal.
Ranked
No. 1 since February 2004, Federer blames his slow start
this year on a winter bout with mononucleosis and says
he feels fine now. He showed no signs of slippage when
he moved to grass the week after the loss in Paris,
winning a tournament in Germany without losing his
serve, much less a set.
That was
against a weak field, however, and the title failed to
squelch speculation Federer will soon be an ex-champion
in gentlemen’s singles at the All-England Club.
Ridiculous question
“I got
the question, ‘Can Roger win Wimbledon?’” said Andy
Roddick, who lost to Federer in the 2004 and 2005
finals. “I found that to be one of the most ridiculous
questions I’ve ever answered in my life. You know, he
has won it five times. I’m not sure what else he has to
do.”
Tell it
to Borg. After erroneously predicting Federer would give
Nadal a tough test in the French Open final, Borg now
says Nadal and Djokovic are more likely to win Wimbledon
than Federer.
Djokovic
likes the sound of that. He won his first major title at
the Australian Open after beating Federer in the
semifinals—the first sign of a narrowing gap atop the
rankings.
Djokovic,
ranked third, believes Federer will suffer from a French
Open hangover.
“I think
he’s a little bit shaken with that loss, and mentally he
has been struggling in the last couple of months,”
Djokovic said. “New names are coming, fresh, talented
players who believe more they can win against him, and I
am one of them. Suddenly, he is worried a little bit.”
Federer’s biggest nemesis disagrees. The No. 2-ranked
Nadal is 11-6 against Federer, was runner-up at
Wimbledon the past two years and pushed Federer to five
sets in the 2007 final.
But
Nadal scoffed at the notion Federer is more vulnerable
on grass this year.
“Yes, a
lot,” Nadal said facetiously. “He didn’t lose a set in
Halle—59 matches without losing. Come on.”
Still
the guy most likely to win
In the
wake of the French Open, there was debate about the
decline of Federer even in Brazil, where Sampras
competed in a senior tournament.
“As
great as Roger is, he’s going to have his losses and his
bad days,” Sampras said. “When push comes to shove in
the majors, he’s still the guy that’s most likely to win
them. He has lost a couple, and if anything that’ll do
him some good. It’ll get him going and fired up. He’ll
be just fine.”
Federer
has won 12 Grand-Slam championships, two shy of
Sampras’s record. With five Wimbledon titles, Federer
has a chance to match the record of seven shared by
Sampras and Renshaw.
There’s
little debate the competition for Federer is stiffer at
Wimbledon than when he began his reign in 2003. The lawn
courts have become slower, which gives baseliners a
fighting chance, and the precocious Nadal and Djokovic
have adapted to grass more quickly than many young
players.
The
big-serving Roddick, once Federer’s most formidable
obstacle at Wimbledon, has been reduced to an
afterthought in discussions about the title contenders.
Feeling
like the favorite
How does
Federer size up the field?
“I feel
like I’m the big favorite, obviously,” he said. “It’s a
huge year for me, going for my sixth. Getting the fifth
one was a dream come true. It’s something that’s going
to be very hard to match, I think, in the future. I hope
I can also match Pete’s record of seven Wimbledons here.
That’s what my focus is.”
Federer
faces the toughest draw of the top contenders, with
potential first-week opponents including big-serving
Robin Soderling, 2007 quarterfinalist Tomas Berdych and
2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt.
On
Monday Federer plays Dominik Hrbaty. Following them on
Center Court will be top-ranked Ana Ivanovic, the French
Open champion, against Rossana de Los Rios. Other
show-court matches include Djokovic against Michael
Berrer, and two-time champion Serena Williams against
French Open quarterfinalist Kaia Kanepi.
Defending women’s champion Venus Williams begins a bid
for her fifth Wimbledon title Tuesday against wild card
Naomi Cavaday of Britain.
Federer
should have no trouble finding his footing against
Hrbaty, whose record at Wimbledon is 4-11. It’s worth
mentioning again that since 2003, Federer’s opponents
are 0-59 against him on grass.
“The
game changes a whole lot when you play on grass,”
Federer said. “It really favors my game because of my
ability to move, the way I defend, the way I use my shot
selection. I haven’t lost in such a long time on grass.
Obviously, my confidence is really, really high.
“Then
again, other players are around to really challenge me.
That only motivates me. So it should be an interesting
Wimbledon this year.”
That’s
one point on which everyone can agree. AP |
