Former world No.1, Roger Federer has debunked talks that he would have won more Grand Slam titles if Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic were not present.
The tennis superstar has released a statement describing such claims as untrue.
The 35-year old player, who has 17 Grand Slam titles to his name, has iterated that the number of Grand Slams he won would be unchanged irrespective of Nada or Djokovic’s presence.
“I think if they (Nadal and Djokovic) hadn’t been around, there would have been someone else. Or maybe without them I wouldn’t have had the same motivation and the same career. I don’t know how to explain it, but I think I would have the same number of Slams, with or without them,” Federer said.
Last week, Todd Woodbridge had openly expressed his thought that, Federer would have won 20 Grand Slams if Nadal was not around. In an interview with Tennis Smash, he said:
“Of all the players I have seen, Federer is the best of all time, who can play on all surfaces. If it wouldn’t be for Rafael Nadal, he would have won more Roland Garros, and now maybe he would have 20 Slam titles.”
On his part, Woodridge has won a total of 16 Grand Slam titles in doubles, including nine titles at Wimbledon.
Federer has not featured in any event since he suffered a knee injury at the 2016 Wimbledon championship. However, it seems like he is recovering fine from the injury. He recently confirmed that he will be playing the international premier tennis league (ITPL), which is slated to begin on the 2nd of December.
“It remains to be seen under what condition I will return, since I haven’t played since last Wimbledon. But I’m very excited to get back on the court. I have trained well, and I think it’s time to play matches again,” he disclosed.