Make no mistake. Roger Federer will continue to be a force to reckon with in the upcoming season, despite the myriad of injuries he endured last year. Tony Roche, the man who helped the Swiss Master reach the top of the sport during the early 2000s, has no doubt Federer will rise again in 2017.
Good for Two More Years?
Roche believes Federer is still a major contender in any tournament for the next two or three years, as long as he keeps himself injury-free. Moreover, he believes that a healthy Federer can shock the world and win a Grand Slam or two over that span.
"I think Roger can continue for another two-three years and be a major force in the game if he remains injury free... No reason why he can't be successful," Roche said of Federer in an interview with the Telegraph.
Federer opened his 2016 campaign with a bang, having reached the semifinal of the Australian Open championship. However, a knee injury forced him to miss several tournaments, including the French Open Championships.
The Swiss returned for arguably his favorite Grand Slam tourney at Wimbledon, but his impressive strings of victory hit the wall when he lost to a young and bludgeoning Canadian Milos Raonic in the semis.
Hampered with a recurring back injury, Federer tried to attain desired fitness for the Rio Olympics, but eventually withdrew because of the severity of the injury. The following days, Federer decided to shut it down for the remainder of the season, missing the US Open championship and ATP World Tour Finals.
The Landscape for 2017
Roche thinks Federer is very much in the mix as far as Grand Slams are concerned. Of course, he also understand the level of play reigning world's no.1 Andy Murray has attained in the second half of 2016, while not discrediting the capability of Novak Djokovic, returning Rafael Nadal, Stanislas Wawrinka and the youngsters like Nick Kyrgios and Alex Zverev.
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.
"(Stanislas) Wawrinka is always dangerous, particularly in Grand Slams. The youngsters like (Nick) Kyrgios and (Alexander) Zverev and even (Milos) Raonic can do well next year. But everything depends on if these players can avoid getting injured."
Federer, who already withdrew from IPTL, is scheduled to kick off his 2017 ATP season campaign at Brisbane International. He will then seek for his 18th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open championship this January.