Don’t write off Federer, says Becker

“I was surprised to hear Born Borg say Roger Federer was not his favorite to win Wimbledon this year, because in my mind it is very tough to go against a five-time champion,” Becker told the Daily Telegraph.

“It might be true that the competition is closer – Rafael Nadal has clearly improved greatly on grass, while Novak Djokovic is the third player in the group – but I feel that with the history Roger has at Wimbledon, you don’t bet against him in the same way that you don’t bet against Nadal on clay.”

Becker refuses to believe that Federer, who won just four games in his stunning Roland Garros defeat to Nadal, will be damaged by the loss.

“I don’t believe it can have affected him psychologically. He always arrives at that tournament knowing that, on clay, Nadal is a little bit better, so I don’t imagine mentally he is really hurt by it,” said the German.

“As we have seen, Federer went to Halle to adapt to the grass and he won convincingly – not losing his serve once – so how can you argue with that? If anything, I think that he is more motivated this year because he knows that if he doesn’t win Wimbledon, his No. 1 ranking is at stake.”