Can Federer defend his Wimbledon Title?

The biggest tennis event is just two days away. With the draw being unveiled (with a sprinkle of “British Tradition” a la through radio) and the seeds fixed, Wimbledon is ready to go. But is Roger Federer?

The Swiss 1st seed is the overwhelming favourite to clinch his 9th title and opens his title campaign against Dusan Lajovic in a rematch from the 2nd round from 2017. His draw till the semi-finals is largely straightforward, but only if we omit 16th seed Borna Coric, who conquered Federer in Halle. Coric and Federer are slated to play in the fourth round, which Coric has never reached in any slam.

He goes into Wimbledon with the most amount of match practice

While Federer lost in the final of Halle, it’s important to note that Federer has never played or won so many matches on grass prior to playing Wimbledon. Federer’s form in Halle was poor. He was very passive, his footwork was lazy and his only saving grace was his serve, which was excellent. While he largely rose to the occasion in the big moments throughout the fortnight, Federer cannot have the same game plan in Wimbledon, and a great reminder of why will be his loss to Coric despite winning 8 more points in the match.

His loss in Halle is a good wake up call

If Federer had won his 10th title in Halle, he would be very complacent going into Wimbledon, feeling that playing as passive as he had would be enough in at least the earlier rounds, considering that his draw in Halle wasn’t very difficult. Now that illusion is shattered, and he must’ve hit the practice courts hard, which can only mean good news. Right?

Probably not

Federer’s been playing passive all year, and he’s largely been getting away with it. The grass is a surface where one needs to be aggressive to win points and win them quick. With a potential matchup with Cilic, it seems likely that he might not defend his title. That’s just my humble opinion and I’d love to be proved wrong.