Toni Nadal, the mind behind the blueprint to slay Roger Federer as executed to perfection by his nephew Rafa, believes the 37-year-old Swiss maestro’s age combined with exhausting best-of-five set Grand Slam format makes it virtually impossible for Federer to win another major title trophy.
Writing for a Spanish publication called El Pais, Uncle Toni says Federer’s days of winning majors could be over although he admitted that Federer has “repeatedly surprised me.”
“What can we expect from 2019? I find it hard to see Federer raise another Grand Slam cup,” Toni Nadal wrote in his column. “Obviously, I do not say it for [his] game, although I do say it for the hardness of the five-set tournaments. I have to confess that I said that on other occasions and the Swiss, repeatedly, surprised me.”
Federer won the Australian Open last year and this year at 35 and 36 to become the oldest man to win a Grand Slam singles title in 45 years – when Ken Rosewall won the 1972 Australian Open at 37.
Federer will have many more chances to break Rosewall’s record as the oldest man to win a Grand Slam major as he has revealed no plans to retire and could still be competing beyond the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
