Another tennis legend joined the long list of tennis analysts and luminaries who believe Roger Federer's comeback season won't go to waste. He's a man on a mission, and that's winning a Grand Slam trophy before he closes the door on a career worth calling the greatest ever.
Pat Rafter, former two-time US Open winner, believes there's a reason why Federer keeps on fending off father time despite entering the midpoint of 30s. He thinks Federer's sole reason for staying on his tour is not to collect world ranking points, but instead bagging that Grand Slam title which has been elusive for the last four years.
Rafters said of Federer's Grand Slam conquest in an interview with CNN.com
'If he's not winning a Grand Slam, is he struggling? Because what is his goal? To be no. 5 in the world? I doubt it. I think he realistically thinks he can win another slam. Maybe he can. Whenever you are that great, you never write off a champion.'
On Thursday, John McEnroe shared his personal top-5 player of all time with Federer on top of his list.
"Federer overall, consistency-wise, is the best player ever," McEnroe told WFAN host Marc Malusis in a radio interview on Tuesday in New York City. "If you put Nadal, who is to me, the other guy. Those two if they played one-on-one and both guys were playing their best, I would say Nadal matches up better with Federer."
With 17 Grand Slam championships around his belt, Federer can easily ride into the sunset knowing that he had done all the things necessary for him to be called the greatest tennis player of all time. Then again, the itch of winning the big one apparently is still there.
Federer will be entering the 2017 ATP season facing lots of skepticism about his ability to win another Grand Slam championship. During his layoff, new face and contenders such as Milos Raonic and Juan Martin Del Porto have risen up to occasion, while Andy Murray finally solved the puzzle of beating Novak Djokovic and fulfilled his destiny as a top-ranked player in the world.
