Roger Federer’s former coach Tony Roche still believes the Swiss veteran can still win Grand Slam tournaments.
The legendary Aussie coached Federer between 2005 and 2007, said: “Once Roger is fit, I do believe he can win a Grand Slam or two.”
Roche has coached many top players over the years including other former No.1 players such as Ivan Lendl, Patrick Rafter, and Lleyton Hewitt, and won the 1966 Roland Garros title during his playing days.
Despite his endorsement for Federer, Roche had other thoughts on the upcoming 2017 season: “So, the beginning of 2017 is going to be very interesting. 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.”
Roche highlighted Murray as the early favourite for titles in 2017 and gave his reasons for Murray’s remarkable second half of 2016: “I think Murray has the edge at the moment because he has Lendl in his corner. And as you know, when Lendl first worked with Murray, he helped the guy to get his first Grand Slam and the Olympic gold medal. So obviously, Lendl has made a huge difference to Murray. But don’t forget, Novak plays very well in Australia. His record is fantastic.”
Djokovic’s fantastic record in Australia, including his title in Melbourne last year means the Serbian has the most to lose early in 2017 as the defending champion. Roger Federer will also be under pressure to defend his points from last season as his ranking sits at its lowest to start a year since 2001, when he was ranked No.29 going into the 2001 season.
