Roger Federer: 'That's why I have to prepare for it in practice'

• Tennis News
• Roger Federer

Former world No. 7 Richard Gasquet admits he is past his prime and it is highly unlikely he will return to the top-10, but he is determined to give his best until the day he ends his career race. Gasquet, 35, is one of the most experienced players on the ATP tour.

Gasquet, who turned pro in 2002, has 15 ATP titles to his credit. In 2007, Gasquet reached the best position of his career, number 7 in the world. Now, Gasquet is ranked No. 70 in the world. "My best tennis would be tough," Gasquet told the ATP website.

"I was No. 7 in the world. It would be very difficult for me to get back into the Top 10, even the Top 20. But I just want to enjoy myself, be good on the track... have strength, not have injuries." Although Gasquet is past his prime, he believes he can be competitive and get more big wins before retiring.

"Of course I'm sure I can win a lot of big matches," he said. "I did it against top players, even Top 10 players, winning tough matches and playing well. But this year I am turning 36, so it is getting harder and harder. I just want to enjoy it and try to do my best to move on." Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have shown that it is possible to win big even in your 30s.

Gasquet calls the Big Three an inspiration, but he adds that no one can compare to them. "Of course he is an inspiration, but nobody can compare to Nadal, to Federer," Gasquet said, speaking of the recent success of his contemporaries.

King Roger is quite confident

As the conversation turned to his own career, Roger Federer declared that he has no plans at the moment to play in any of the tournaments besides the two he has already confirmed his participation in -- the Laver Cup and the Swiss Indoors.

"I haven't planned more than the Laver Cup and Basel yet. After Basel, the season is over anyway. It's important for me to get fit again so that I can train fully," Federer said. "Once I've done that, I can choose how many tournaments I play and where.

The Laver Cup is a good start, I don't have to play five matches in six days." After testing the waters at the Swiss Indoors soon after, the 20-time Grand Slam champion was quite confident that he has what it takes to return to action in earnest once again.

"I will have be able to do that in Basel. That's why I have to prepare for it in practice. I'm curious myself what's still to come. But I'm hopeful, I've come a long way. I'm not far away," he said. "The next three or four months will be extremely important."