Retired tennis player Robin Soderling believes Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have what it takes to win any titles as long as they are healthy playing the game.
Federer and Nadal, two of the most decorated players in the Open Era, have earned considerable amount of success in their respective careers. Both have been atop the ATP world rankings and are considered standouts among other competitors of this generation, consistently winning Grand Slam events in the past decade.
However, Federer and Nadal have recently been struggling to win titles this season, especially at major events. The Swiss Maestro has not won a title this season due to a knee surgery that sidelined him for more than two months, while Nadal, despite conquering the Monte Carlo Masters, took nine months before winning another title.
But according to Soderling, a former world No. 4, in spite of Federer's age and recently incurred knee injury, and Nadal's struggles to find his form, the Swiss Maestro and King of Clay can still win any titles and would only be done in their quest for tennis greatness if they decide to call it quits.
Soderling defeated Nadal at the French Open back in 2009 and beat Federer in the quarterfinals of the same event the year after. For both players, the Swedish former tennis pro could be considered as a streak-buster, having ended Nadal's chance to a fifth-straight French Open title and Federer's record streak of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals.
Federer and Nadal may still have what it takes to win titles, but that could only be the case if world No. 1 Novak Djokovic is not in his form.
Last season, Federer played seven tournaments, including Wimbledon and US Open, where the Swiss had the chance to add titles in his career record. In all of those competitions, Federer played Djokovic in the final round and only defeated the Serb once at the Cincinnati Masters.
Nadal also had a handful of opportunities to add titles into his record in the past two seasons, but have miserably failed to do so, no thanks to Djokovic's dominance. Their most recent final round matchup was earlier this year at the Qatar Open in Doha, where the 11-time Grand Slam winner cruised past Nadal for an easy win.
Despite Djokovic's impressive run at the season, there are still few who believe the Belgrade native still beatable. His recent loss at the Monte Carlo Masters against Jiri Vesely was a proof
Aside from his match in Doha against Nadal, Djokovic has yet to face the two in a tile-clinching match partly because of the Spaniard and the Swiss' lack of timing to play at a high level. They will have a chance to once again relive their rivalry at the ATP 1000 Masters Madrid, although Federer has expressed uncertainty to join the event.
If Federer competes in Madrid, he and Nadal would have a shot at validating Soderling's claim of them winning any titles, but it may not be the case if Djokovic plays his game well.