Former World No. 2 Star Says He Doesn't See Roger Federer Returning To Top

Former World No. 2 Goran Ivanisevic, who is a part of Novak Djokovic's coaching team, said the men's game is on a great stage but Roger Federer is "slowly leaving the stage."

By winning the Wimbledon earlier this year, Djokovic equaled Federer and Rafael Nadal's world record of 20 Grand Slams.

Ivanisevic, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year, went on to explain that the record chase has gone down to just Djokovic and Nadal.

"I think men's tennis is having a great time. Obviously there is Roger Federer who is slowly leaving the scene. I do not see him able to return to the top of the ranking," Ivanisevic said in a recent interview as per Tennis World USA. "I believe that Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will be competing for records and everything else. There was no shortage of praise for the members of the Next Gen. There are many guys who in the next five or six years can aspire to the throne, perhaps winning several Grand Slams."

The Next Gen include the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov as they have shown considerable potential in recent times.

Ivanisevic, who won the 2001 Wimbledon despite being unseeded in the prestigious Grand Slam, also insisted that once the Big Three — Federer, Nadal and Djokovic — retire, the rankings will have a lot of changes.

"We will see big changes in the ranking after the Big 3 have retired. I don't know when they'll hang up the racquet, but from then on we will have several different Grand Slam winners. I do not exclude that we can return to see four different Grand Slam champions in the same year," Ivanisevic, who has been Djokovic's coach since 2019, said further.

Having featured in 30 major finals, 20 of which he has won, Djokovic is one of the greatest players to have graced the sport of tennis. He has won a record nine Australian Open titles, six Wimbledon, three U.S. Opens and two trophies at the Roland Garros. After Rod Laver, Djokovic is the only player in the Open Era to have simultaneously been the holder of all the four Grand Slams and the only one to do so on three different surfaces.

In the Open Era, he is also the only player to have won all Grand Slam titles at least twice and the third overall after Roy Emerson and Rod Laver.

While Federer and Nadal have skipped the Tokyo Olympics due to injuries, Djokovic is a heavy favorite to win his first Olympic gold medal.