‘Without Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic would not be at this level’: Mats Wilander
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Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal
The Big 3 of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic have ruled men’s tennis for almost 2 decades now. They have shown dominance unseen and unheard of in tennis, or rather sports in general. Such was their dominance that they have won 61 combined grand slam titles in the last 18 years. They have played a very vital role in popularizing and globalizing the sport.
Amongst the Big 3, Roger Federer is the oldest and the pioneer of the men’s revolution. He brought a different charisma to the sport and changed the way in which tennis was played. The Swiss maestro is currently 40 and is still recovering from his third knee surgery. He is undoubtedly the most popular tennis player ever and hence fans can’t wait for him to grace the court again.
Like Federer, 23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams also is missing from the tour. 7-time grand slam champion Mats Wilander believes that both the tennis legends- Serena and Roger deserve to say goodbye to the sport on their terms in their favorite stadium.
“For both Roger and Serena, they deserve to play their last match in front of a full stadium at their favorite venue. I’m guessing for Federer that would be Wimbledon and for Serena it would be Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York,” Wilander told Eurosport.
‘I don’t want to see them retire at all, but everyone gets older’: Mats Wilander
Wilander added that it doesn’t matter whether they are playing a first-round match or a final, everyone would love to thank them for their services. He said that not only the current generations, but Federer has also inspired and pushed Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal to be better players. He also called Serena the greatest female tennis player ever.
“Whether it’s the first round, second round, semi-finals, or final, it doesn’t make any difference. We would all love to say goodbye and thank them for what they have done because they have inspired the generation playing today, but also players like Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic would not be at this level without Roger Federer setting the tone and the same on the women’s side with Serena Williams, maybe the greatest tennis player of all time. I would love to see them retire in front of a full crowd – of course, I don’t want to see them retire at all, but everyone gets older!” he said.
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Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)