Wimbledon: Much as I like Andy Murray, I'd love to see Roger Federer win one more crown

Swiss is sheer class in everything he does, writes legendary coach Nick Bollettieri

Roger Federer has yet to drop a set at this year's Wimbledon (Getty)

Much as I admire Andy Murray and much as I respect all the other seven men’s quarter-finalists, I have a confession to make: I would love to see Roger Federer win here again. Holy cow, what a story it would be if he could win his eighth Wimbledon title just a month short of his 35th birthday. At this stage I see Murray as the favourite, but the way Federer is playing you certainly wouldn’t rule him out.

Has there ever been a greater ambassador for our sport? Federer is sheer class in everything he does. Whether you’re talking about him on the court, off the court, with his family, or with his foundation, he’s the same.

Two years ago Roger and Pete Sampras both wrote beautiful letters supporting my induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. When I saw copies of those letters it brought tears to my eyes. I tell you, the fact that they had written letters like that meant as much to me as any of the awards that I’ve won in my 60 years in tennis.

I hear people say that Federer might not be as quick as he was, but I’m not so sure. Boy, he has looked exceptional in his first four matches here and I take him to beat Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Murray is now the favourite to claim the SW19 crown (Getty)

Look at how well Federer is serving. He’s a spot server, not a power server. He pinpoints his serves in the way that Sampras used to. You very rarely saw Sampras serve at more than 130mph, but, just like Federer, he served with relentless accuracy.

Federer missed the recent French Open because of his bad back and hasn’t played as much as he would have liked in the last few months, but I don’t think that will be a factor.

Cilic has a big serve and has been in decent form here, but he’s never looked the player he was when he won the 2014 US Open. I can see Federer mixing things up a bit. He certainly won’t try to match Cilic for power and in the end I think he’ll be too good for him.

The winner will play Sam Querrey or Milos Raonic, whose confrontation will not be a match for the faint-hearted. Holy cow, if you have a ticket for that match I suggest you take your hard hat with you. They’re both big guys and they will be hitting massive serves.

Raonic showed early momentum and won the first set (Getty)

Nevertheless the serving advantage goes to Raonic and I think that could be crucial. Big Sam’s best chance will be to go for it on his forehand, come into the net and force Raonic to try to pass him.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will have to take a similar kind of gamble against Murray. As soon as the rallies go over eight or 10 strokes, Murray will be the favourite to win the point. Tsonga will need to hit some huge serves and forehands, attack the net whenever he can and be aggressive on Murray’s second serves. But I still see Murray coming out on top.

In the semi-finals Murray or Tsonga will meet Tomas Berdych or Lucas Pouille, who at 22 is the baby of the last eight. The Frenchman’s a great talent, but I take Berdych to win this one. Berdych has sometimes struggled to control his emotions in the past, but I’ve liked the way he has kept them in control here.

The way to beat Berdych is to avoid getting into a hitting contest with him. You need to break his rhythm. However, I think the pressure of playing in a Wimbledon quarter-final might just get to Pouille.

Coaching report

Angelique Kerber’s second serve is a major weakness, but I like the rest of her game. She played beautifully in her quarter-final victory over Simona Halep. Her movement was superb, she hit some great ground strokes and she found some lovely angles. I like the way she goes down on her knees when she’s hitting difficult half-volleys. Man, it’s like she’s in church, praying she’ll hit a winner.

I also loved her drop shots. They were so effective. Boy, she must have been reading my “tip of the day” here yesterday when I pointed out how effective the shot can be, especially on a grass court. It could be a useful weapon when she plays Venus Williams in the semi-finals.

Angelique Kerber played some lovely drop shots in her quarter-final win (Getty)

Although I wouldn’t want to take anything away from Kerber, I thought Halep was not at her best. I hardly remember her going to the net and she should have varied her game more when Kerber came forward. She seemed to want to pass her all the time, whereas the lob could have been very effective. Like Kerber, she also needs to improve her second serve. She’s not going to win Grand Slam titles if she’s on the back foot all the time.

Serena Williams was all business in her win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Serena was so calm in the match it was almost like she had been meditating beforehand. If she’s to go on and equal Steffi Graf’s Open era record of 22 Grand Slam titles she’ll need to stay focused, though I can’t see her having too much trouble against Elena Vesnina in the semi-finals.

My tip of the day

Each day this week I’m giving you a little tip on how to improve your own game. You’ll find plenty more like this on my website, www.nickbollettieri.com.

Today’s tip: when to attack the net. A lot of students say to me: “I want to come into the net but I don’t know when to do it.” I remember Tommy Haas saying exactly the same thing to me in his early days working with us at the IMG Academy in Florida. I told him: “Tommy, go in all the time and you’ll find the answer to that for yourself.”

I’d give similar advice to anyone learning the game. Next time you play, try coming into the net every time your opponent hits the ball short. How do I define “short”? I would say it means any ball that gives you the chance to attack it. If you do that, you’ll soon understand when’s the right time to come in. Nevertheless, it’s also a good tactic every now and then to come in when your opponent isn’t expecting it. The element of surprise can be crucial.