Tennis legend Rod Laver believes that in the crop of players this current generation, he believes that Roger Federer is still the greatest player.
Rod Laver, present this week at the Shanghai Masters tournament, said on Thursday that Roger Federer’s consistency on tour in a decade has set him apart to his peers, even his current rivals such as Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
“When I look at Federer, with what he’s accomplished, against the competition that he’s accomplished it with, I’d have to say I would think that Roger is the greatest player,” Laver said.
The tennis great, the only one to have completed a Calendar Grand Slam twice in 1962 and 1969, said that he couldn’t really say there’s one that can be called the greatest of all time.
“I’ve always said if you’re the best in your era, that’s as good as you really can do. You could take it back to ‘Is it Fred Perry, is it Don Budge, is it myself that came along?” he said.
Laver also shared his thoughts about Federer’s supposed decline this season which saw his ranking slide to number seven. The Swiss star lost in the third round to Gael Monfils of France 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3.
“Is it the desire? Is it your emotion, does it come up? Is your adrenaline not flowing as well as it normally does in a match?” he asked. “I don’t know whether Roger’s feeling anything of that nature. But sometimes I notice him, he just doesn’t have it that day. But the day before he was magnificent.
“So it’s not a training method, fitness, nothing to do with his body. So, you know, you just wonder, is it adrenaline that gets you up for matches?”
Laver said that Nadal could achieve the feat of winning a Calendar Grand Slam, something that Nadal, Djokovic and Federer have almost achieved in the past.
“When I look at the way Nadal plays on grass, clay and hard courts, especially this year, he’s obviously one that can win it,” Laver said. “The only reason why Federer didn’t win a Grand Slam was because of Nadal on clay.”
