Djokovic lacks confidence, backs Federer at upcoming Wimbledon

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Ever since he comes back from a long-term elbow injury, Novak Djokovic seems lacking confidence to win at the upcoming 2018 Wimbledon Championships, which will be held from July 2 - 15.

The Serbian recently shares the popular view that Roger Federer is likely to defend his championship with a record ninth trophy on grassland. Even though Djokovic himself is the 12-times grand slam champion and he won the most recent of his three Wimbledon titles in 2015, he still believes it is too soon to think about a fourth trophy at the elite All England tournament.

July 12, 2017: Serbia's Novak Djokovic speaks during a press conference at the All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon after retiring from his men's singles quarter-final match in 2017 Wimbledon Championships. /VCG Photo

"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves too early. I'm definitely not one of the favorites for Wimbledon," Djokovic said.

"Roger is the clear favorite without a doubt. Nadal maybe hasn't played well at Wimbledon by his standards, but he's won it several times. He's definitely one of the candidates to win the title," he added.

Djokovic also backed two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, who returned from a year-long injury layoff at Queen's Club but fell to a hard-fought defeat by Australian Nick Kyrgios, to make an impact.

June 21, 2018: Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates after defeating Benoit Paire of France during their round of 16 matches of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany. /VCG Photo

"Andy (Murray) and myself if we play well (can be contenders). We dropped in the rankings, but Andy played really well against Nick Kyrgios here. He has home support; things can go in a good direction if he plays well at Wimbledon," Djokovic added.

(with input from Reuters)