WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Walking the grounds of Wimbledon in a stylish white warmup jacket, the tournament’s six-time champion looked like the same old Roger Federer.
Sure, there have been recent signs of slippage, starting with the rankings, where he dropped this month to No. 2 behind nemesis Rafael Nadal. Federer lost at the French Open in the quarterfinals, his earliest Grand Slam exit in six years. Then came only his second grass-court defeat since 2003 at a Wimbledon warmup event, and he hasn’t won a tournament in nearly five months.
But the All England Club tends to bring out the best in Federer. And when he steps onto an immaculate Centre Court for his opening-round match Monday against Alejandro Falla of Colombia, he’ll again be the man to beat.
