Andrea Petkovic is 100 percent certain that Roger Federer “would have stopped at 17 Grand Slams” if there were no Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. In the 2009 Wimbledon final, Federer was 27 when he defeated Andy Roddick for a record-breaking 15th Grand Slam title.
Three years later, Federer won his 17th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon just before turning 30. At the time, Nadal and Djokovic weren’t close to Federer’s Grand Slam numbers but the Swiss knew they were coming and he knew he had to continue improving.
Now, Djokovic owns a record 23 Grand Slam titles – Nadal has 22 – Federer finished with 20. Petkovic, a 2014 French Open semifinalist, says having a competition is very important. Because of that, Petkovic is happy that WTA world No 1 Iga Swiatek has gotten competition this year in the likes of Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina.
Petkovic: Federer would’ve stopped at 17 Slams if there were no Nadal, Djokovic
“I was so excited at the beginning of the year when Sabalenka won the Australian Open because I know from my personal experience and just from watching tennis for almost 20 years now, how important rivalries are.
I was worried if Iga Swiatek just dominates the tour for the next…
