Roger Federer looking forward to Wimbledon showdown to challenge Andy Murray's No 1 spot
ROGER FEDERER served warning he is on the prowl after beating Mischa Zverev 7-6, 6-4 at Halle to ensure Wimbledon will see some familiar names at the top of the seedings.
Victory for the Swiss in 1hr 30min saw him leapfrog Stan Wawrinka into fourth place in the rankings which means for the first time in a grand slam since 2014, the Big Four of Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Federer will take the four main spots in next Friday’s draw.
And Federer, who climbs to third in the rankings if he goes on to win the tournament, is not content with that.
“Andy was tired after getting to No. 1 at the end of last year and then he has been struggling with injuries,” he said.
“I think the second part of the season will be really crucial for Andy and Novak as well. It is going to be really, really interesting.”
Murray was not the only Brit in the firing line yesterday as the nation’s top woman Jo Konta was blasted off court in Birmingham by 2016 Wimbledon semi-finalist CoCo Vandeweghe.
The American No 30 took just 24 minutes to bully a player 23 places above her in the rankings out of the first set and though Konta pulled herself together for the second, it was not enough to prevent a 6-1, 6-3 defeat.
At least there is still some home interest in the Aegon Championships at Queen’s after Britain’s Jamie Murray and Brazilian partner Bruno Soares beat Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus 7-6, 4-6, 10-6 to reach the doubles semi-final.
