Aussie legend Rod Laver believes Roger Federer still has another major victory in him despite the Swiss suffering yet another grand slam defeat to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals on Thursday.
Federer has been in search of a record-extending 18th grand slam trophy ever since he won his 17th at Wimbledon in 2012. But the world No3 has been stopped in his tracks – losing to Djokovic in their last four major showdowns – and many wonder whether Federer, at 34, can add to his tally.
But Laver, who is the only player to complete the Grand Slam twice, in 1962 and 1969, believes Federer can still win another major.
“I tend to think so,” said Laver. “I thought even this time he looked like he was playing great tennis those two matches prior. So when you see that, you think ‘well, yeah, Roger’s got a chance’.
“So, yeah, somewhere around the line maybe Wimbledon is an opportunity for him to do that.
“He certainly knows the territory. He knows the competition. If he gets a good draw, and I think that’s always very big, there’s probably two, three, four guys that you would really rather not have to play. If they’re in the other half, you’ve got an opportunity.
“I think it’s possible. But maybe it’s a big stretch.”
Federer was destroyed in the first two sets against Djokovic in their semi-final on Thursday before he stopped the bleeding and took the third, eventually losing in four to the world No1.
Laver paid tribute to Djokovic’s form and says there wasn’t much Federer could have done differently.
“Looking at the mistakes, I think Novak had maybe five mistakes in those two sets. It was just quite incredible the speed he was getting around the court and being able to hit great shots down the line, just an inch inside the line,” said the 77-year-old.
“I don’t think Roger was negative in hitting any groundstrokes. It looked like he was doing pretty well with the groundstrokes when he came to the net, but Novak had all the answers and he played beautifully.”
On his part, Federer, who beat Djokovic three times last season but only in best-of-three encounters, rejected the suggestion that he is unable to keep up with the Serb in best-of-five play.
“I have self-confidence. That doesn’t fade away very quickly. I know it’s not easy. I never thought it was easy,” said Federer after his loss.
“But, you know… Best-of-three, best-of-five, I can run for four or five hours. It’s not a problem.
“I know you guys make it a different case. I get that, because you think I’m old and all that. But it’s no problem for me. But it doesn’t scare me when I go into a big match against any player who’s in their prime right now.”