Roger Federer adamant ‘we will not be the last to win 20 slams’ as Laver Cup gets underway

As the Swiss great prepared to bring down the curtain on his 24-year professional career last night (Friday) with a doubles match alongside his old rival Rafael Nadal in the Laver Cup, he revealed his optimism for the future of tennis without him. Some believe that the records set by Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic - with 63 major trophies between them - are unattainable, but Federer is adamant that their history-making can be repeated by others on courts that are now slower than before.

“We never talked about 20 with me,” Federer, 41, said. “We always talked about maybe you could reach 15. It just starts to increase more and more.

“I do believe more than ever you can dominate through all the surfaces because they all play the same. There is not the serve-and-volley dangerous guys any more on quick surfaces. Everything’s slow nowadays, indoors is not what it used to be. That’s why I think there will be more players in the future with five-plus slams because once you get on a roll, you can stay on a roll. At some point there will definitely be a few players with 20-plus slams. I’m convinced about that.”

Federer insists that the breakthrough of 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open played no part in his decision to retire because he had already made his mind up by then. He does admit, however, that he has been taken aback by the way in which young players are able to cover the court with speed.

“I’ve seen what [Alexander] Zverev and the big guys do, like [Daniil] Medvedev, [Stefanos] Tsitsipas and [Andrey] Rublev,” Federer said. “The way they all move, it’s unbelievable. Of course I’ve played against them and I know I also did it myself. But it’s true when you are hurt like I have been and you’re in rehab, you’re like, ‘How did I do it? How do they do it?’ It is a gruelling, tough sport, no doubt about it.

“I was very happy with what I saw at the US Open. Some great matches. Tennis always creates another great storyline when you dig deeper into the personalities of the players. I think they all have an amazing story, like [Frances] Tiafoe and Alcaraz. I really enjoyed what I saw and I’m sure the future is bright for the game.”

A realisation that time might soon be up came for Federer before Wimbledon last year. After losing a Halle Open second-round match to Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in three sets, he broke down in tears in the locker room. By this stage he had undergone two operations on his right knee and still was not seeing the desired improvements on his favourite surface of grass.

“I cried after the match and I knew I will not win Wimbledon,” Federer said. “I was realistic about my chances at Wimbledon. Once you are in the moment, you try to convince yourself at all costs. I knew that it was going to be really difficult to win Wimbledon.”

Federer surprised himself by going on to reach the quarter-finals, defeating Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie en route in the third round, but his run came to a tame end with a straight-sets defeat by Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz. He lost the final set 6-0, which was the first time he had ever failed to win a game in a set at the All England Club. It turned out to be the last set of competitive singles that Federer would ever play.

“The quarter-finals was an amazing result under the circumstances I was under with my knee,” Federer said. “The end of that match was one of the worst moments of my career because I really felt awful. It was over, the knee was gone, and then knowing I had to face the media right afterwards in a short amount of time was really hard.

“It is what it is. You can’t turn back the time and go, ‘Oh, we should have changed this.’ So be it.”

-The Times

Originally published as Roger Federer adamant ‘we will not be the last to win 20 slams’ as Laver Cup gets underway