Google News
Record 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer paid respect to Australian tennis legend Rod Laver as he is grateful to what Laver and other legends did for the game. Laver, a former world No. 1, is an absolute icon and Federer acknowledged that.
Laver was the last player to win all four Grand Slams in the same year. Laver achieved the feat in 1969 and after more than 50 years world No. 1 Novak Djokovic came close to achieving the feat himself. Unfortunately for Djokovic, he lost to Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final and failed to become the first player since 1969 to win all four Majors in the same year.
"For me, Rod Laver is an absolute, true legend of the game and not only him but his whole generation of players,” Federer told Mercedez-Benz. “I’m really thankful for everything they have done back in the day."
Federer was happy to see Laver watching the Djokovic and Medvedev final
Federer thinks that someone achieving a Calendar Grand Slam again in possible.
Djokovic failed to achieve the feat but Federer noted that what the Serb did was truly exceptional. Federer would also like to see Laver's comment on Djokovic. “It was nice to see him again at the Us Open in the finals watching Novak trying to equal his counted Grand Slam," Federer said.
“I think it is possible that it’s going to be and going to happen again. “We saw it with Novak, myself and Rafa [Nadal] that we come extremely close, but doing it I think you need a bit of luck, you need personal strengths, you need everything and that’s why I think it’s going to be hard but it’s possible.
“We have to ask also Rod Laver what he thought because he was sitting first row watching Novak play, but what Novak did this year was truly exceptional”.