Novak Djokovic does not believe career rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are done competing at a high level, insisting that both players are still among the best players in the world.
Federer and Nadal are both out of the world's top four for the first time in more than a decade, signifying an end of a dominant era from the two rivals. The struggles in the past two seasons have caught up in Federer and Nadal, as well as injuries that devoid them of their old elite form.
But for Djokovic, who has spent the last 119 weeks in the No. 1 spot of the ATP world rankings, it is too early to discount Federer and Nadal, insisting that the Swiss Maestro and King of Clay are still two of the best tennis players to ever surface the earth.
"It's kind of expected to have some new faces in this sport but I still wouldn't rule out Roger and Rafa, and I would not take them out of that context of the best players in the world," Djokovic said, reports TENNIS.com.
Federer had a rough start to the season, suffering his first major injury a day after losing to Djokovic at the Australian Open. After two months of recovery, the Basel native came back to the Tour, but lingering back contributed to his losses upon his return. Just as when Federer was gaining momentum this season, the 35-year-old Swiss re-injured his surgically-repaired left knee in his semifinal appearance at Wimbledon, forcing him to skip the remainder of the season.
It was the first time Federer has not won a single Tour-level title. The last time he suffered on such losing skid was in his injury-laden campaign in 2013, where Federer only managed to win one tournament all throughout the year. But Federer is motivated as ever to return in the tennis scene, vowing for a stronger and better bid in 2017.
"My team tells me I'm on schedule and the promise of getting back on court and competing again is very exciting," Federer said, reports the Herald Sun. "I've missed it so much. My motivation and love of the sport is as strong as ever and I'm really looking forward to heading down under to see all my Australian fans."
Likewise, Nadal struggled to regain his winning ways this season. After a regretful campaign last year, Nadal started 2016 with renewed motivation of finding back his tennis mojo. He gradually progressed in attaining that goal, winning back-to-back titles during the European clay circuit. But just as the 14-time Grand Slam winner is ready to conquer Roland Garros for the 10th time, a left wrist injury forced him to retiring from the tournament, and may have brought him back to square one of finding his old form.
While Nadal found success in winning in the doubles category at the Rio Olympics and China Open, he seems to have dropped his level again when playing singles matches. The Mallorcan has expressed uncertainty over his immediate future, but Nadal, who is currently ranked No. 5 in the world, is also determined to be "100 percent" ready for next season.
"For me the season is almost over, and I accept that. I cannot say now what I gonna do during the next month. I'm not sure nor about my calendar and nor about the things that I need to do to try to be at 100% ready for the next year," Nadal said, reports Tennis World USA.
"Sometimes the solution is to practice and stop and have a process of training. And maybe that's an opportunity to do it. I need to speak with my team. I need to speak with my uncle, too."
It remains to be seen whether Federer and Nadal could still win major events, but if they could come back healthy next year, fans may still witness both players displaying classic matches on the Tour.
Video courtesy: YouTube/ATP