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Roger Federer's Wimbledon prospects look slim this year. The 39-year-old's preparations for the grasscourt Slam were dented when he was defeated by Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round at Halle, marking his earliest loss in the German city.
Federer, who turns 40 in August, has had hardly any competitive action this year and will now head to Wimbledon with just two grasscourt matches under his belt.
In a recent interview with Matt Trollope for Australian Open, nine-time Wimbledon doubles champion Todd Woodbridge weighed in on Federer's chances at the All England Club this year. Woodbridge claimed that returning to the venue of some of his greatest triumphs would allow the Swiss to settle down and find his best tennis.
"It is the one place he'll go where there isn't performance anxiety," Woodbridge said. "There is a real calmness from how well you usually perform when you go there. And there is a comfort in going through the gates, through the routines that you've done over so many years."
"I always felt that, and I know he would obviously feel that, because this is the tournament that feels like his own," he added.
Federer reached the final at Wimbledon in 2019. The Swiss was on the brink of clinching his 21st Grand Slam title, but after squandering two match points, he was eventually defeated by Novak Djokovic 13-12 in the fifth set.
Woodbridge believes the eight-time champion may still have some "scars" from the 2019 final, but claims the Swiss could use it as a source of motivation this year.
"There'll be some motivation and there'll be some scars from 2019, but if he thinks back to that year, he still played brilliantly, and should have won," the Aussie said. "That's something more positive to be able to feed off."
The Australian believes Federer will have to be wary of big hitters like 2021 Queen's champion Matteo Berrettini. However, citing the example of Ken Rosewall's triumph at SW19 in 1974, Woodbridge insisted that if things go Federer's way, he has a chance to triumph at Wimbledon this year.
"He can definitely win it. But he's going to need help. Maybe somebody takes out a couple of seeds?" the Aussie said. "Anyone who can rush Roger, or any of the younger guys with a big game, are threats. If they come out swinging hard like Matteo Berrettini did at Queen's, that's going to be really dangerous because Roger is not going to be able to use his skill set."
"He knows the history of the sport so well, and Ken Rosewall made the 1974 final at age 39; I think he knows that's possible," Woodbridge said. "I think if he gets that right opponent in a big match, he can most definitely come out and win a championship. But the stars are going to have to align to make that happen."
Roger Federer found the competitive spirit he needed at Roland Garros: Woodbridge
Roger Federer's preparations leading up to Wimbledon have been far from ideal. Since making his long-awaited return from injury in Doha in March, the Swiss has a win-loss record of 5-3 this year.
He could, however, draw some positives from his run at Roland Garros, where he defeated Denis Istomin, Marin Cilic, and Dominik Koepfer before withdrawing from the tournament to protect his body for the grasscourt season.
Woodbridge claims the Swiss' experience at Roland Garros would have boosted his chances going into Wimbledon. But the Aussie also questioned whether Federer's body could hold up in long five-set matches.
"I think he found that competitive nature and spirit that he needed," Woodbrdge said.
"The best-of-five format is going to be a good and bad thing for him. He's going to have time to be able to find ways to win and to hang in, but if he does have a couple of long matches, how is his recovery?" he added. "That's the one thing we don't know; given this length of time away from the game, what's that going to do to him?."
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