Slam wins might be harder to come by for next generation

MONACO - Tennis legend Roger Federer believes it will be difficult for the younger generation to emulate him and fellow veterans Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in winning multiple Grand Slams.

The 36-year-old Swiss, who holds the men's all-time record of Grand Slam titles with 20, was speaking to a small group of journalists hours before winning two Laureus awards - 'Comeback of the Year' and 'Sportsman of the Year' - on Tuesday.

Laureus is a global movement that uses the power of sport to tackle social challenges in the world.

Federer, who missed the ATP tournament in Dubai this week to attend the awards, said young players like Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov and Austria's Dominic Thiem have the ability to win a Grand Slam, but 10 might be beyond them.

"It is definitely hard to see one player right now winning 10 Slams," said Federer.

"It is much easier to say that probably a lot of guys are going to win one or two, but winning 10 is not something you can predict. People didn't predict that with me, to be honest.

"Maybe with Rafa (Nadal) with the French Open you say yes, he is going to grab a few there. Maybe he is going to win five (he has 10 to his name) as he was an amazing junior as well, like Bjorn Borg. They were the best teenagers we ever had in the game."

Federer, who came to Monaco on the back of winning the Rotterdam title where he beat Dimitrov in the final, conceded that fortunes can change with the slightest of tweaks.

"Once you get rolling like Novak and I did, all of a sudden you don't look back. Then a few years later you do look back and you have eight or 10 Grand Slam titles ... it's crazy," said Federer, the oldest world No 1 in ATP history.

"Confidence and momentum are big things.

"When you unlock your game through success or a coach explains the one ingredient that is missing, that can change things."

Federer said the sport won't suffer once the likes of him, 16-time major winner Nadal, 12-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic, and double Wimbledon winner Andy Murray finally hang up their rackets.

"The game of tennis always has a way of producing champions and the future has never worried me," he said. Someone will follow in our footsteps and be a champion.

"We are a shadow over the game, the top guys, and clearly we don't allow them (the younger ones) to completely flourish, but once we are gone I think it will still be very, very exciting."

Federer, who says his lighter tournament schedule these days keeps him hungry and motivated, has had his fair share of injury problems in recent years, and he urged Murray not to rush back to competition following hip surgery in January.

"What I learned is just be patient when you are hurt, only come back when you are 100 percent, not 92 percent," said Federer, who will make up his mind about whether he plays the French Open after the Indian Wells tournament in March.

"I've come to realize it is better to wait. If you're hurt or struggling in a tournament and no one knows, it's OK. But if people know you have had a problem it is better to wait it out and train really hard to get back to 100 percent."

Federer believes his enormous popularity is due to both the success he has enjoyed and to how he has handled tougher times.

"Maybe going through tougher moments since 2010 and 2011 came around when I didn't win so much," he said.

"People saw me struggling a little bit more and they thought of me as being more human. Since then, my popularity has really gone up even more so since my comeback last year."

Agence France - presse