I’m amazed Rafa and Roger are still on top TEN years after best final ever

TEN years on from the greatest Wimbledon final in history, who would have thought that the two great protagonists from that day of days would be heading to SW19 as favourites for the gentlemen’s singles title?

It’s a realisation that causes Tim Henman some surprise. As the former British No 1 works through the alternatives, however, he just can’t see past the power pairing of Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal for the Championships, which start on Monday.

With a combined age of 68 and a joint collection of just the 37 Grand Slam singles titles between them, the guys seeded first and second remain virtually unassailable.

BBC pundit Henman, referencing the near-five-hour epic that saw Nadal beat Federer to clinch his first Wimbledon title, revealed: ‘We were talking the other day about the 2008 final.

‘That was the first final I commentated on. And it’s probably the best match I’ve ever seen.

‘If you had said at that stage: “Okay, in ten years’ time, Federer and Nadal are going to be the clear favourites for Wimbledon…” I wouldn’t have believed it.

‘But it’s incredible that they are. I think a lot of people would sign on for another final like that.

‘I think Federer and Nadal are the two clear favourites. Still. Well, who else is there?

‘Novak Djokovic is playing better, he’s healthy — and he’s won before. Can anyone else really make an impact? Grigor Dimitrov has made semis, Milos Raonic has been in the final.

‘You always wonder if one of the big guys like John Isner or Kevin Anderson will come through. But it’s unlikely.

‘Mischa Zverev is a very good player but he doesn’t have the grass-court pedigree yet and he hasn’t performed well in the Slams.

‘So it’s a process of elimination — and you end up with Federer. He’s won the thing eight times. He’s obviously still playing well. He’s the favourite.’

The unknown in all of these calculations, of course, is how Andy Murray will fare — assuming he decides he is competitive enough to take part.

Expectations will rarely have been lower, despite the Scot’s impressive return following hip surgery.

Quite how the watching world thinks he will — or should — perform is, however, not really the point. Not to Murray. And not to Henman.

‘He knows what he’s had to deal with,’ said the man who shouldered the burden of being the home favourite before Murray’s emergence. ‘And you never worry about expectations from outside. At Wimbledon, my motto always was to control the controllable.

‘I always felt that, when I was getting blamed for the weather, expectations were totally out of control!

‘Andy knows where he is in his comeback. It’s not realistic to think about him being a contender for Wimbledon.

‘It’s about taking another step so that, months down the line, he can be properly competitive in the Slams again.’

The two-time Wimbledon winner was clearly putting all the components of his game back together again in his three competitive matches to date, beating Stan Wawrinka and losing to Nick Kyrgios and Kyle Edmund.

Might Murray actually welcome the fact that the expectations of the home support will be tempered for once at SW19 as a result of his injury?

‘I know what people mean when they say a lack of pressure can be liberating. But, with that mindset, you are implying that he’s worried about people’s expectations,’ added Henman.

‘It’s not about that, not about what people are saying on television.

‘If you go in thinking about the pressure, you wouldn’t be able to play.

‘You see the guys who have the right mentality. They focus on how they want to play, their strategy, and play each point.

‘Whereas there are plenty of players, playing in a home Slam, who are very much restricted by that.

‘Andy’s mentality has been key to him going far at Wimbledon. That and the fact that he’s a great player.

‘Now, if he were to play Wimbledon, he will go out to play the right way. But he won’t worry about the other stuff — because he can’t control it. ‘I think I missed one Slam in my career, following shoulder surgery.

‘Coming back from that, it was amazing how long it took me to be on the court and feel like I wasn’t thinking about it. ‘In the back of my mind, I’d be asking if I was really back, if I was getting full power in my serve. ‘But you have to go through that process. Andy just needs to keep pushing, which means tournament play.

‘He’s not at his best yet. But, hopefully, this helps get him back to that level. He’s still moving okay.

‘It’s just too early to assess his game.

‘Part of the challenge is he has relied so much on his movement. And if his movement isn’t as good, he will struggle.

‘But the early signs were promising.

‘Just to see him out there took me by surprise, considering where he was four weeks earlier.’

Murray has been paired with France’s Benoit Paire in the first round.

If he is to make further progress, the 31-year-old’s next opponents could be Denis Shapovalov, Juan Martin del Potro and Nadal.

The prospect of Murray meeting Del Potro or Nadal so early would be ‘quite an event’, conceded Henman.

‘But that’s the way the ranking system works in our sport,’ added the 43-year-old Englishman, who was speaking to Sportsmail after playing in the Brodies Invitational at Gleneagles last week.

‘And it emphasises how good the big four have been for so long, to stay fit and healthy — and to dominate the game the way they have.

‘Suddenly, Andy misses 11 months, his ranking is gone and he’s not seeded.

‘There is no protection. So it will be an interesting one.

‘If you had said to me five weeks ago that he would have been playing on the grass, I would have seriously doubted it. But he’s obviously made some big, big progress.

‘He’s not at this best yet but, hopefully, he’s on the right track.

‘You push it in the gym, you get on the practice court — but at some stage, you have to get out and play a match.’