Roger Federer v Rafael Nadal

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Tennis legend Rod Laver has said that Roger Federer will always be “the champion of his era”. The 82-year-old believes that there is still a lot of tennis left in the Swiss star and he expects him to win a few more tournaments before he hangs up his boots. Federer was ruled out of the ongoing Australian Open as he is still recovering from two knee operations he had last year.

In the absence of World No. 5, Spanish tennis ace Rafael Nadal has an opportunity to overtake Federer’s 20-Grand Slam titles. The World No. 2 is just three matches away from winning a record-breaking 21st Slam and is scheduled to face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals of AO 2021 on Wednesday.

Roger Federer can win Wimbledon or US Open: Rod Laver

The Australian tennis great has always shared a great bond with Roger Federer. He claimed that Roger is certainly the best of all time when you look at the record. Laver also added that he has had conversations with Roger about his upcoming plans and believes that the 39-year-old can play for at least 1-2 years more. "When I chatted to him (Roger) the past year or so, he thought he'd play his best until he's 40 and I think he's pretty much on it", Laver said.

Laver further added that Federer can certainly win more tournaments, with Wimbledon and US Open being the best bets. He said that the Swiss star loves to play, loves to compete and loves the environment he is in. Notably, the current World No. 5 is planning to mark his return on the court next month in Doha.

Novak Djokovic's consistency is amazing: Laver

On the other hand, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic is also in the mix of the things, targeting his 18th Grand Slam. The World No. 1 will face Alexander Zverev on Tuesday to secure a place in the final four of the tournament. Rod Laver, who could not travel to this year’s Australian Open due to the pandemic, also praised Djokovic and said, "He (Novak) is certainly is on his way because he won a huge amount of tournaments and his consistency is amazing."