French Open winner Roger Federer is the favourite to claim the Wimbledon title this year after defending champion Rafael Nadal pulled out of the competition through a knee injury. And although some bookmakers have made local favourite Andy Murray - as he prepares to kick off his Wimbledon challenge on Monday - top seed after Federer to win the Wimbledon title, the Swiss ace has played down the immediate posed by Britain's world number three.

"No," was the blunt answer Federer said when asked if Murray was his main competitor. "I mean, I always said I think Andy is a wonderful grass-court player," he said as quoted by The Scotsman newspaper.

"I always knew that Andy was going to be one of the toughest ones next to Rafa [Nadal] and [Novak] Djokovic and I think even (players] like [Juan Martin] del Potro, [Jo-Wilfried] Tsonga, [Fernando] Gonzalez and now even [Robin] Soderling.

"There are so many guys who are dangerous and up and coming still. Maybe it's hard for them to win the tournament, but on any given day they can create a huge upset," he said.

It could transpire to be a particularly dramatic year at the All England Club, especially for the home supporters – it might be unlikely, but not impossible that a final on par with last year's epic one be replayed. Federer and Murray are seeded to meet in the final and the Scot has won their last four matches, extending his lead over the Swiss four-time Wimbledon champion 6-2.

Federer, however, has won on both occasions when the two met in tournament finals. Federer also played Murray's record by saying, as quoted by the BBC: "He beat me twice when I had problems in my back and I wasn't at my top game."

Meanwhile tennis legend Andre Agassi, singles champion in 1992, has said of Murray: "He has a very natural, sophisticated understanding of the game. To win the seven matches you need to win a grand slam title a player has got to beat a lot of different kinds of opponent and Andy's versatility, which is a real upside, means he can be a multiple slam winner.

"I think he has one of the greatest backhands the game has seen, his movement allows him this luxury; movement and his sense of the court are the biggest strengths of his game," Agassi said as quoted by the Guardian.

Federer kicks off his campaign against Yen-Hsun Lu at 3pm Bulgarian time on June 22 in the first competitive match to be played on Centre Court  followed by the women's second seed Serena Williams, who plays Nueza Silva, before men's fourth seed Djokovic meets Julien Benneteau.

Murray does not play his first-round tie until the next day, when he takes on American Robert Kendrick.