World No.2 Roger Federer will be the player to beat throughout 2018, according to Pat Cash.
The 36-year-old won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles this season following a six-month injury break in 2016. In 2017 Federer currently has a win-loss record of 39-4 after also winning a duo of Masters 1000 titles in America.
“Take away the French Open and Federer is the best all-round player in the world,” Cash told BBC Radio 5 live.
“There’s no doubts about that. He’s my favourite for everything apart from the French.
“As long as he’s fit, he’s favourite for the Australian, Wimbledon and the US Open.”
At the recent US Open the Swiss player suffered his worst grand slam result of the year after losing in the quarter-finals to Juan Martin del Potro as rival Rafael Nadal went on to win the title. Nadal is currently the world No.1 and leads Federer by 1960 points.
Remaining coy about the prospect of winning a 20th major title in 2018, Federer is staying focused on the remainder of this year. He is expected to play in at least four ATP tournaments as well as the Laver Cup. With no points to defend for the rest of the year, he has a golden opportunity to close in on Nadal’s reign at the top. The last time Federer was at the top of the Emirates rankings was in November 2012.
“I have big priorities for the rest of the year, and I usually play very well towards the end.” Federer said following his US Open defeat. “I just really need to recover and go back to the practice courts and hopefully just finish strong.”
The rivalry between Federer and his Spanish opponent has been on full display in recent months. Since January they have clashed on the tour three times with the Swiss winning all three of them. Overall, they have met a total of 37 times with Nadal leading their head-to-head 23-14.
“Well done for Roger for having an amazing season and well done for me because I’m having a great season too.” Nadal told reporters in New York on Sunday. “Let’s see what happens until the (end of the) season and that’s it.”
Both men will join forces later on this month at the inaugural Laver Cup in Prague. A team event that will feature Europe against the rest of the world. It could be the first time in tennis history that the pair will team up to play a doubles match.
