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 Centre Court match as he begins his pursuit of a sixth straight Wimbledon title.
That would equal the record set 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.
Nobody disputes that Federer, 26, has struggled in recent months. For only the second time since early 2003, he has been beaten at two consecutive majors. He has lost eight matches this year, only one fewer 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. 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, ranked third, believes Federer will suffer 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.
But Nadal, ranked second, scoffed at the notion Federer is more vulnerable on grass this year.
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.”
Today, Federer plays Dominik Hrbaty.
Defending women’s champion Venus Williams begins a bid for her fifth Wimbledon title Tuesday against wild card Naomi Cavaday of Britain.
