Roger Federer has commented on the fortunes of rival Andy Murray since the Scot achieved the No.1 ranking at the end of last year.
Federer is playing in Halle this week as part of his traditional Wimbledon preparations. The former No.1 and current Australian Open champion took an extended break after Indian Wells and Miami, opting not to play the clay court swing this season.
The decision to miss the clay swing including Roland Garros may have been a good decision as another of Federer’s old rivals, Rafael Nadal, stormed to the title without dropping a set.
Federer: “Andy was tired after getting to No.1 at the end of last year and then has been struggling with injuries.” Murray has had elbow injuries and also suffered from shingles over the course of a below-par year to date for the defending Wimbledon champion.
The Swiss also looked to events beyond Wimbledon. “I think the second part of the season will be really crucial for Andy, and Novak as well. I think the second half of the season is going to be really, really interesting.”
Federer is a seven time Wimbledon champion, with his last title coming in 2012 when he defeated Murray in four sets. Since then Federer has suffered some surprising defeats to the likes of Sergiy Stakhovsky. He made two finals in 2014 and 2015 but was thwarted both times by Novak Djokovic, before being beaten by Milos Raonic in the semi-finals last year.
