The one advantage Roger Federer has over Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon final - Tim Henman
ROGER FEDERER will benefit from the crowd being “massively” on his side when he faces Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final tomorrow.
That’s the verdict of former British No 1 Tim Henman.
Roger Federer overcame long-time rival Rafael Nadal in the 40th instalment of their storied rivalry in the semi-finals yesterday.
Despite a second-set collapse after a tense tie-break in the first set, the Swiss icon recovered to take the third and fourth sets, winning on his fifth match point to come out on top 7-6 (7-3), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
That means the 20-time Grand Slam champion will meet defending champion Novak Djokovic in his 12th championship match at SW19.
The Serbian battled past Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 as he chases back-to-back Wimbledon successes for the second time in his career.
Though an eight-time Wimbledon winner, Djokovic heads into the tie the favourite having won all of their last three meetings and three of the last four available Slams.
Yet the 32-year-old endured a period of struggle during his victory against Bautista-Agut and looked unsettled as the Centre Court crowd backed his Spanish opponent.
Though Djokovic regained his composure to make the final and set himself up for a potential 16th triumph at a major, Henman thinks the fact that the support will weigh heavily in favour of Federer tomorrow afternoon could be crucial to the latter’s hopes of winning.
If Federer can get off to a good start, he has a chance
Yet Henman - a four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist - suspects Federer will have to take his game up another level despite the impressive fashion in which he overcame Nadal in the final four.
Henman said on BBC show Today at Wimbledon: “Federer’s got to play even better but I think the crowd will have a really big part to play.
“We see it even today against Bautista-Agut, Djokovic gets a little bit frustrated.
“The crowd will be massively on Federer’s side.
“If Federer can get off to a good start, he has a chance.
“Djokovic is the favourite. I really dislike agreeing with John [McEnroe] but I’m going to say Djokovic to win in five sets.”
Wimbledon: Federer says he is 'excited' to face Djokovic in final
And Federer is well aware of the challenge he faces in defeating world No 1 Djokovic, who he has not beaten at a Slam since 2012 and has lost twice in three meetings to at Wimbledon, in the 2014 and 2015 finals.
"He played great against Bautista Agut, who I thought played a phenomenal tournament," Federer said of his rival.
"Novak was supreme again. He is the defending champion and has showed why this week. He has been rock solid from start to finish.
"I hope I can push him to the brink and hopefully beat him.
"It is going to be very difficult but he is not No 1 by chance, he has been great for the last few years."