This is what I wrote in the other thread similar to this:
Also you have to remember at the time Fed played Agassi at USO in 2005, he was only a 5-time slam winner. He was still relatively unknown to casual tennis/sports fans. So that's why Agassi had a huge home court advantage that year.
Fast forward 7 years later, Fed is playing Murray as a 16-time slam winner.
Fed is now more respected and loved around the world in the same way Michael Jordan was in his later years. Even a lot of my sports fans who don't follow tennis know his name. To many it's just a treat just to watch him to appreciate him while he's still playing and still at such a high level for his "age". So its' extremely hard to root against him especially since he's an elder statesman and still maintains a classy professional attitude when he goes about his business.
Jordan when he came back for his final two years on a crappy team (Wizards '01-'03), lots of fans were turning out just to be able to watch him play one last time. Sure he was nowhere near his prime, but he was still performing at a very high level especially considering his age.
I think Federer is basically an adopted hometown favorite at every major tennis tournament that isn't Nadal or Novak's stomping grounds. Hell even in Madrid they root for him more than anyone that isn't named Rafa, including the other spaniards like Ferrer or Almagro.
I think the crowd will be split closer than you guys think it is. I think the crowd will be 55-45 in Murray's favor, with a good portion of Murray's fans also rooting for Federer. There really is no villain in this match. If Fed plays Nadal, the crowd clearly is rooting for Federer minus the one guy in the audience that always shouts "I love you Rafa" whenever they played.
