Kokkinakis: Roger Federer was No.1 at 36: You can't doubt legends like that

Australian tennis star Thanasi Kokkinakis says the current tennis shutdown may help Roger Federer the most among the Big Three since it helps him recover from his knee surgery even while the rest of the competition are unable to practice or compete on the tour.

Speaking to AAP, Kokkinakis says, "He (Federer) was going to take this time off and let his body rest and strengthen up anyway. So for him it pushes things back a little bit so for sure it helps him. 

I don't know how Rafa Nadal's knees are going and what-not or how he's feeling but it might help those two."

The Australian added that the stoppage may hurt World No. 1 Novak Djokovic among the three. "I think the one it hurts maybe a little bit is Djokovic."

Federer underwent knee surgery in February and had planned to skip all events till early June prior to the tennis shutdown.

Kokkinakis adds that Federer can still win a Grand Slam title when the tour resumes since he has the ability to keep points short and his game does not take a huge physical toll on his body.

"The way he plays doesn't take a lot of physical toll on your body. He makes it look so easy and he's really efficient with his movement.

He has the ability to shorten points and play on his terms maybe a little more than Rafa and Novak. So he can kind of dictate the way points are going to go.

I definitely still think he's probably better in this point in best-of-three (set tennis) and Wimbledon would probably be his best chance to get more slams but, who knows, you can't count him out.

He's so good and has been for so long. A lot of times in the past when people thought he was done, he's come back.

He was No.1 in the world at 36 so, if you're 36 and No.1 in the world, you can't doubt legends or champions like that.

You've just got to respect them and see what they can do."

Federer has won 20 Grand Slam singles titles in his career while Nadal has won 19 Grand Slams and Djokovic has won 17 Grand Slams.

Currently, all tournaments till 12th July have been cancelled. The ATP has said that it would take a call on the events post mid-July latest by 1st June.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3d8FebE