DJOKOVIC CAN TAKE TITLE, INSISTS ANDY

ANDY MURRAY has seen enough in Novak Djokovic this fortnight to believe he is back to his best and in a position to beat Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to the Wimbledon title. Djokovic has not won a Slam for two years after battles with an elbow problem and his progress to the quarter-finals has largely gone under the radar. The 12th seed faces Japan’s Kei Nishikori today before a possible semi-final with Nadal and yesterday Murray, in the BBC studio as a pundit, was upbeat about the possibility of Djokovic pulling off a significant upset by taking the men’s singles crown. Asked what it would take to beat Nadal and Federer, Murray (below), who will be in the BBC commentary box today alongside Tim Henman, said: ‘Novak could beat both of them. Whether it will happen, I’m not so sure but from what I’ve seen he’s playing really, really well. ‘He’s not been in the latter stages of a major event so much recently — I think Queen’s was his first final in a year and he looked like he had a few doubts in that match against Marin Cilic — but in terms of his level and the way he’s playing, I think he’s back where he wants to be. ‘Mentally, he looks like he is where he needs to be as well. He looks very fired up — so I think Novak has got a great shot. ‘Maybe last year he suffered from a slight dip in motivation, which is completely normal because of what he had achieved the previous year — winning all four Slams in a row. ‘Maybe the injury and being away from the sport makes you realise how much you miss it and he certainly looks like he’s back to where he wants to be.’ On Kyle Edmund’s displays at Wimbledon, Murray, who confirmed he will be back in action on July 28 at the Citi Open in Washington, said: ‘It is amazing he’s in the top 20. Looking at him — and the guys ahead of him — I think he’s better than some of them and has more weapons.’