Google News 'Roger Federer didn’t play particularly well at Wimbledon but...', says former star
by SIMONE BRUGNOLI | VIEW 4839
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had to watch the exploits of Novak Djokovic almost helplessly in 2021. By winning three out of four Grand Slams, the world number 1 cleared the gap that separated him from eternal rivals in the all-time Grand Slam standings.
The Serbian also had a great chance to overtake at the US Open, but was defeated by Daniil Medvedev in the final act. King Roger played the misery of 13 official matches this year, limited by a knee that doesn't want to leave him alone.
The 40-year-old from Basel ended his season after Wimbledon and has undergone his third surgery in the past 18 months. It didn't go much better for Nadal, who played seven official tournaments in 2021. While he managed to put a couple of trophies on his beloved clay court, the Spaniard failed the assault on his 14th Roland Garros.
The 35-year-old from Manacor will make his return to the Abu Dhabi exhibition in December, before flying to Melbourne for the Australian Open 2022. Interviewed by the portal 'Express Sport', former ATP number 4 Greg Rusedski analyzed the moment they are living Roger and Rafa.
Rusedski opens up on Federer
Speaking with Express Sport, Rusedski said “well Roger Federer I think is focused on Wimbledon. I don’t think he realistically believes he can win in Paris (French Open) or he can win in Australia (Australian Open) or the US Open.
Wimbledon as we saw in 2019 he had a few match points against Novak [Djokovic]. This year he didn’t play particularly well at Wimbledon and still made the quarter-finals so if he’s healthy, I think that’s where he believes he still has a shot to win and he wants to win the best titles, he just doesn’t want to make the numbers up so for Roger that’s probably the goal.
For Rafa [Nadal] it’s the French Open. That’s where he thinks he can get [Grand Slam] number 21 because Djokovic is really the supreme player on hard courts”. Rusedski also echoed Mats Wilander’s thoughts that Federer and Nadal’s comebacks will be made much more difficult due to the quality of the rising ATP stars which form the top ten, namely Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
“You’re talking about the younger generation, they’re here now. I mean, out of the big three it’s really the big one left which is Novak who doesn’t seem to be going anywhere quite yet. It’s harder for Federer and Nadal now because Medvedev, Zverev, Tsitsipas, those guys are starting to believe. They’ve come very, very close."
