Andy Murray insists Roger Federer's French Open thrashing against Rafael Nadal won't affect his bid for a sixth Wimbledon title.

Federer was swept aside by Nadal in Paris and will defend his All-England Club title with serious questions being asked about his form for the first time in his career.

The Swiss has been accused in some quarters of losing his appetite for success but Murray, who advanced to the third round at Queen's on Tuesday when Sebastien Grosjean retired hurt, has no doubts Federer is still head and shoulders above his rivals.

"I still think he's the best player in the world. He's still a long way ahead of Nadal and (Novak) Djokovic in terms of ranking points," Murray, the British number one, said.

"If he continues to win Wimbledon, dominate the US Open like he has been, then, yeah, he's still going to be the best. That will be the case until he goes down to number two in the rankings."

Murray admitted he was spellbound by Nadal's three-set rout of Federer — a performance he believes confirmed him as the best ever clay-court player — yet he remains unconvinced the Spaniard can outlast Federer on grass.

"I thought it was pretty special. It was probably the best match you're going to see in a Grand Slam from one player," Murray said.

"I guess it's kind of history on the line, a Grand Slam final, so to play with so few nerves and so much belief that you're going to win the match against someone as good as Federer just shows how good Nadal is. He's going to go down as the best clay court player ever.

"He's made the Wimbledon final a couple of years in a row, so he's definitely one of the favorites to win it. But I still feel like there's more chance of him maybe losing before the final than there is of Federer."

While Nadal, who starts his Queen's campaign on Wednesday, and Federer will be the pre-tournament favourites at Wimbledon, Murray is setting his sights high as well.

Murray, who missed Wimbledon with a wrist injury last season, has never reached the last eight of a Grand Slam and admitted he is desperate to end that drought on home turf.

"I'd like to get into the second week of Wimbledon and then do better than I did the last time," he said.

"I think you have to go in believing that you can win the tournament. If you get to the quarters, semi-finals, it's still a good result. But you've given yourself the best chance to win the tournament.

"My goal is to try and win the tournament. I've never made the quarterfinals of a slam before, so it would be progress."

AFP