Roger Federer assesses Rafael Nadal: Why world No 1 has surprised him with form
ROGER FEDERER believes Rafael Nadal is as good as he has ever been, even at the age of 31.
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Federer and Nadal dominated the Grand Slams last year with the Swiss taking the Australian Open and Wimbledon while his great rival won the US Open and a 10th French Open title.
But both had been sidelined by injury in 2016 before returning to the top of the game, ending 2017 as the top two in the world.
Federer admitted an element of surprise at the fact that they were still the men to beat in the game although he also reckoned Nadal is in the shape of his life.
“I think Rafa, in a way, is still in his prime,” Federer said today ahead of the Australian Open draw.
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“I was always hoping to play of a long time and once you’ve been world No 1 and won all the slams we have won, same as Novak, at some stage you believe you can always achieve greatness again.
“As long as you keep yourself in shape, hungry and motivated.
“We definitely also profited from the fact some guys were injured, especially in the second half of the season.
“That put us up there easier to No 1 and 2 but we did have to do it the hard way as well, here in Australia when everybody was competing and playing.
“I’m really happy for Rafa.
“What a career he has had and what a season, finishing the year as world No 1, the oldest ever, was really impressive and I wish him the best again for this year.”
Nadal will play his first competitive match for two months when he opens his Australian Open campaign against Victor Estrella Burgos, while Federer will face Aljaz Bedene.
The Swiss will start the tournament as favourite and with considerably higher expectations than last year, when he arrived in Melbourne off the back of a six-month injury layoff.
“I had a great four to six weeks of tennis training and many months before that which got me ready for the training. I felt like physically I might be alright but I thought the game and the wins were just not going to come,” Federer added.
“I was probably going to lose at some stage, the quarter-finals or the semi-finals at best because I would just run into a red-hot Djokovic, Murray or Nadal and my game wasn’t going to be good enough. But it was!
“I had all these great five-setters and of course at the end that epic against Rafa. The fifth set was maybe the best set I ever played.
“After six months off, what a comeback that was. It was the highlight of the year. It even beats Wimbledon and all the other wins I had last year.”
