Tennis News: Thomas Johansson says Roger Federer will win another Grand Slam, Rafael Nadal to bounce back in 2016
Sweden’s Thomas Johansson, a one-time Australian Open winner, believes that Roger Federer still has what it takes to win another Grand Slam title. He also said that Rafael Nadal will bounce back in the next ATP season.
“Roger still has a grand slam in him. He has a good chance to win Wimbledon, for example,” Johansson told sportstarlive.com.
“These players live under so much pressure. A lot of people say Rafa had a bad year, he is number five. Then it is tough to live with huge expectations day-in and day-out. Rafa is working hard to try and keep up with the top guys. Rafa is at a stage now where Roger was, when his rankings dropped. Since I have been on the tour, I can see Rafa is working now to try to keep up with the big boys. I am sure he will come back strong next year,” he added.
Between the two, Federer has been more successful in recent years as the former has maintained his status as one of the elite players, while the latter has fallen off in the world rankings. Federer is currently ranked World No. 3 while Nadal is at No. 5, as both have taken the backseat to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who has dominated the men's singles scene the past couple of years.
Johansson, who bagged the 2002 Australian Open title, his lone Grand Slam career win, also compared the generations of players he has played against during his career. The 40-year-old Swedish added that it was “a privilege to play with both generations,” mentioning the likes of tennis legend Pete Sampras and Nadal to differentiate the type of players in each generation.
Johansson was tapped as coach by rising tennis prospect Borna Coric earlier in 2015. Johansson admitted that it’s tough to be a mentor for the younger generation of players but stated that he’s going to help Coric both on and off the court. The 19-year-old Coric is from Zagreb, Croatia and is currently ranked No. 44 in the ATP rankings.
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