Federer lauds 'special man' Andy Murray with Wimbledon hope: "I hope he wins many, many rounds"

Rivals for many years featuring 25 meetings including finals at Wimbledon, Australian Open and US Open, Andy Murray has gained the respect of his contemporary, Roger Federer.

A fellow member of the so called Big Four, with Murray being the lesser talked about despite his achievements and also resurfacing after his hip injury which could've easily ended his career.

He continues to play and defy this which saw Federer laud praise on him this past week.

Ahead of Wimbledon too, it is not Djokovic that he hopes can seal the title but more a good run for Murray on what he dubs now his best surface.

“Andy is a special man and I'm very happy he's still able to play. He loves it,” said Federer during his trip to London.

“He truly loves it. With all the complications he's had with his hip, it's amazing to see that he's still going and I think we all should give him like, a proper sort of round of applause if you like, because what he's going through and what he's achieving with what he's gone through is incredible.

“Funny enough, he just won a Challenger, I believe in Surbiton last week. I played that back in '99, lost in the semis. And he won the same week as Novak [Djokovic] got to this incredible record of 23 Slams, that also deserves so much respect.

“So I'm a big fan of Andy's as well and I wish him all the best for Wimbledon as that's his best surface in my mind, especially nowadays.

“So I hope he wins many, many rounds at Wimbledon in a couple of weeks.”