
Former British No. 1 Annabel Croft reckons 19-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer will continue his dominance in 2018 while his friend and rival Rafael Nadal could struggle with his bad knees.
Nadal and Federer dominated the 2017 season, splitting the four Grand Slam titles and ending the year as No. 1 and No. 2 in the official ATP rankings. Nadal finished the year as the top ranking man after triumphing at Roland Garros and the US Open whereas Federer claimed the Australian Open and Wimbledon crowns.
However, the Swiss legend participated in fewer tournaments than Nadal and despite achieving a better win/loss record overall, Federer was unable to catch Nadal in the race to the top spot.
But Croft is convinced the 36-year-old from Basel will succeed in extending his supremacy in 2018. She isn’t that sure about Nadal’s future though, as his knee problems continue to haunt him.
“There are always rumors about Rafa’s knee,” she told Express Sport.
“I’ve read a lot of reports about him cancelling a training camp, so I think a lot with him will depend on the knee, but Federer definitely.
“I think he’s playing the best tennis we’ve ever seen him play.
“His movement for someone of his age, I reckon he’s moving better than we’ve ever seen him.
“He’s playing with such freedom and so much choice, and what he does with opponents is he comes at them so fast and furious, he doesn’t give them time to think and it’s such beautiful tennis to watch.
“He’s reinvigorated the construction of points with the way that he’s so aggressive: up tempo, serve-volley, attack the net, finish them off, winning points quickly it’s kind of reinvigorated that style of tennis.
“Yes he’s had some variety from Murray, the great ground strokes from the back of the court from Djokovic but the way he plays it’s made tennis really exciting again.”