Roger Federer (Photo : Getty Images)
Roger Federer would want to win his record 8th Wimbledon title by beating the most dominant tennis player today, but it won't be in the Finals.
The Swiss ace has to beat Novak Djokovic in the semifinals as predicted, because he was seeded no.3 at the same half as the world's no.1 player.
The 2nd seed went to Andy Murray who will have no.4 player Stan Wawrinka on his bottom half. Tennis.com predicted the possible quarterfinals cast.
"Possible men's quarterfinals: Djokovic vs. Milos Raonic, Federer vs. Kei Nishikori, Wawrinka vs. Dominic Thiem, and Murray vs. Richard Gasquet."
It will be an uphill climb for Federer, who could cement his status as the Greatest Player of All Time by exceeding Pete Sampras' seven titles in the sport's most prestigious grass courts. This will be Federer's 18th Wimbledon appearance.
If the predictions for the quarterfinals hold out, Federer will have an advantage over Nishikori, who has never beaten the seven-time champ on the grass court before. If Federer has really recovered from his injuries, it would be hard for Nishikori to stop him.
That is still a big "if" though, and Federer addressed that when he met the press. Tennis X covered his comments.
"Look, this back has won me 88 titles, so I'm okay with that back. It's okay if it messes around with me sometimes," Federer said "It's frustrating because it shakes the whole mechanics of the body, what you can work on. Yeah, maybe if it hits you in bad times, it's not funny. I think particularly difficult has just been looking ahead of what was to come: Paris, Wimbledon, Olympics, US Open."
He reveals that missing the French Open was part of the plan to recover enough for Wimbledon-what he declared as his preferred tournament.
"I think this is a huge boost for me after pulling out of Paris, that I'm back here at my favourite tournament," Federer said. "With all the success I've had here, this is the motivation I need right now to get back on the big courts, play good matches and enjoy Wimbledon."
He reiterated: "I love this tournament more than anything. It's a huge opportunity for me to maybe turn around the season. Who knows?"
Breaking the Wimbledon record would be a fitting proclamation-a return of the King storyline that would make tennis much more interesting again following Djokovic's dominance.
