Johannesburg [South Africa]: 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has heaped praise on Andy Murray, saying that the world number two has been performing incredibly in recent times and hoped to see him carry his form to the US Open, starting from August 29 in New York.
After losing the French Open final to Novak Djokovic, Murray went on to win the Queen’s Club tournament and his second Wimbledon title before successfully defending his Olympic crown at Rio de Janeiro.
However, Swiss great Federer said he still considers Djokovic as the favourite to lift the fourth major of the season despite the latter making early exits in recent tournaments, Sport24 reported.
Djokovic suffered a shocking third-round defeat against Sam Querrey in Wimbledon before slumping in both men’s singles and men’s doubles event at the recently-concluded Rio Games.
While pointing out the Serbian’s great record against Murray, Federer asserted that Djokovic is a great hard-court player and that he would surely pose a tough challenge in New York.
Federer, who lost to Djokovic in the US Open final last year, would face a tough time as he has been forced to pull out of the remaining season to recover fully from his knee injury. (ANI)