Wimbledon 2018: John McEnroe Rates Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Djokovic, Murray's Chances

Tennis legend John McEnroe rated the Big Four's chances at Wimbledon next month with 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer being his "definite" favorite.

Wimbledon takes place from July 2 to 15 as Federer will look to win not only a record ninth crown at SW19 but also his fourth Grand Slam title since his career resurgence began at the start of last year.

Despite his recent loss to Borna Coric in the final of the Halle Open, a result that saw him lose the No. 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal once again, many still have him winning Wimbledon and McEnroe is no different, who went on to praise the Swiss legend for still being able to perform at the highest level despite being 36 years of age and having suffered a near-five year drought of major titles.

"He’s definitely the favorite, he’s positioned himself beautifully and missed the French Open like last year to make sure he’s ready. It’s a risky strategy but he’s proved he can do it," McEnroe told WhatsOnTV. "Roger’s is the greatest tennis story in the last 40 years — he has won three of the last six majors after not winning any for almost five years, it’s amazing."

Nadal, who won his 17th Grand Slam last month at the French Open, will feature on the grass-court as well, but despite four losses to Federer last year — all on non-clay surfaces — McEnroe refused to rule the Spaniard out, especially as he has gone through some bad luck in the tournament.

"Nadal has proven to be very hungry, he wants it," he added. "He’s not as comfortable with his movement on grass and the other guys feel more confident coming up with a game plan against him because he has greater anxiety. So it’s more difficult [for] him, but he’s also had some bad luck at this tournament. You really can’t count him out — he’s been in five Wimbledon finals!"

Meanwhile, 12-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic had some promising performances during the clay-court season as he looks for his own career resurgence, and recently reached the final of the Queen's Club Championships where he lost to Marin Cilic in three sets.

But given his previous injuries resulting in a downturn in form for much of 2017 as well as a current two-year drought without Grand Slam titles, McEnroe is unsure as to how the Serbian will fare at Wimbledon.

"I don’t know what to think exactly," McEnroe said. "It’s unpredictable. He’s one of the all time greats and only 31, but he’s lost that fire, the look in his eye, I don’t see it any more. I hope it hasn’t been extinguished."

Another player who suffered from injuries last year was Andy Murray, who only recently returned to action from a hip problem earlier this month for the first time in nearly a year. He would lose to Nick Kyrgios at Queen's before exiting in the round of 16 at Eastbourne this week to Kyle Edmund.

While the former No. 1's performances were encouraging, McEnroe believes it will be too soon for Murray to win this third Wimbledon title this year.

"If he comes back, it would be extremely unlikely he could win this time," McEnroe explained. "To be able to take such a long time off, for something as difficult as a hip issue, and then step up and win a tournament… you can practice as much as you want, but I don’t know how you can do that, especially as a lot of Andy’s success came down to the fact he was a great mover and athlete."

"Stranger things have happened though, it’s not impossible. If the injury is fully resolved then he could definitely win again in the future — he’ll be a threat for the next five years."