TENNIS NEWS - Historically, emotionally and statistically, Roger Federer remains the man to beat at Wimbledon even at the 21st time of asking.
Forget the creaking knees and advancing years – the Swiss will be 38 in August – not many in SW19 will bet against their adopted favourite achieving Wimbledon history with a ninth men's title to equal Martina Navratilova's record singles mark.
Victory would consolidate his position as oldest male champion, a record he set in 2017 when he won his eighth title without dropping a set at the age of 35 years and 342 days.
Federer's cheerleaders will point to the confidence gleaned from 2019 tournament wins on the hard courts of Dubai – his 100th ATP title – and Miami.
This year's Wimbledon lead-up has been wrinkle-free after a positive showing at the French Open, where he lost in the semifinals to Rafael Nadal, and his traditional grass tune-up at last week's Halle Open, where he triumphed for the 10th time.
