Roger Federer will continue to be a major force in the game as long as he keeps himself healthy, says former coach Tony Roche, who also thinks the Swiss Master could win at least two Grand Slam titles over the next two or three years.
Roche, who coached Federer at the height of his prime years, hasn't any doubt on the capability of his former ward to rise to the occasion once again.
Roche in an interview with the Telegraph:
"Once Roger is fit, I do believe he can win a Grand Slam or two. But yes, (Andy) Murray, considering how he is playing at the moment, has taken the game to a new level altogether. He has dominated the second half of the year, while Novak (Djokovic) dominated the first half."
"So, the beginning of 2017 is going to be very interesting." Elaborating on it, Roche added: "Look, Murray is the in-form player, while Novak will have to fight to get his form back. You have also got Federer and (Rafael) Nadal coming back from injuries.
Federer opened this year's campaign on a right note after reaching the semifinal of the Australian Open championship. However, a knee injury forced Federer to miss four more weeks and then skipped more tournaments, including the Rio Olympic and US Open championships, due to a nagging back injury.
As far as the battle between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic at the upcoming Australian Open is concerned, Roche gives the edge to Murray largely because of Ivan Lendl's influence on him. On the other hand, Roche stressed that Djokovic shouldn't be counted out because Australian Open has been his domain for the past 5 years.
"To talk of Novak, it's very hard to maintain such intensity. He dominated the first half of the year, but it's never easy to sustain it. Mentally, it drains you out sometimes. So, staying at the top for over a long period of time is really difficult.
"I think Murray has the edge at the moment because he has Lendl in his corner. And as you know, when Lendl first worked with Murray, he helped the guy to get his first Grand Slam and the Olympic gold medal. So obviously, Lendl has made a huge difference to Murray
"But don't forget, Novak plays very well in Australia. His record is fantastic."