Roger Federer and Serena Williams not at Australian Open 2023 - 'Tennis misses these GOATs' says John McEnroe
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Updated 23/01/2023 at 07:00 GMT
Tennis was always going to miss Roger Federer and Serena Williams with the legendary duo having helped take the sport to new levels in their illustrious careers. Eurosport's John McEnroe has reflected on the 2023 Australian Open being the first major tournament since Federer and Williams bowed out from the sport late last year, and attempted to put it in perspective.
McEnroe on the tennis world 'missing' Federer and Williams at first Slam after retirements
Eurosport expert John McEnroe has said that "tennis misses these GOATs" with the 2023 Australian Open being the first Grand Slam since Roger Federer and Serena Williams retired from the sport.
The legendary tennis duo bowed out from the sport in very emotional scenes with Williams bidding farewell at the 2022 US Open, while Federer had his own send-off in the 2022 Laver Cup at the O2 Arena in London, playing doubles alongside Rafael Nadal.
With 2023 bringing in a new mini-era in many ways with the pair having retired from the sport, the Australian Open was always going to be very different as everyone in tennis attempted to grasp the fact that they were no longer in competition at the opening Grand Slam of the season.
McEnroe has acknowledged what a loss it is for the sport not having either Federer or Williams around on court any longer, but he also highlighted some other interesting perspectives and looked forward.
"Ask Australia's Channel 9 if they are missing their presence!" McEnroe said of Federer and Serena not playing at Melbourne Park this year.
"Then you throw in the fact that Ash Barty retired, the reigning Australian Open champion. Nick Kyrgios is injured and didn't even play at the event.
"So the answer is an obvious 'yes!' - you miss these GOATs, the greatest of all time.
"Class act, Roger Federer. Serena Williams - people look at tennis in a different way after all that she has accomplished.
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'It's a tough commitment' - McEnroe on how Australian Open's spot on calendar affects players
"So of course, they are missed. How can you possibly gauge how much they are missed? We don't even know. It is a question we don't know the answer to, but we were lucky that last year [Carlos] Alcaraz filled the vacuum at the US Open to a fairly large degree.
"There were a couple of incredible matches. Serena had that final run, so that was really great, but the truth is, you need stories."
On the subject of Nadal's potential retirement, McEnroe has said that his hope is for the Spaniard to be able to go out on his own terms, despite all of his injury struggles, and get the send-off in the sport that his illustrious career has already warranted.
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McEnroe hails Nadal's longevity and explains why he can't be counted out
“Obviously, this is a guess, and you know, anyone that comments on this is doing the same thing," McEnroe told Eurosport regarding Nadal's injury. "My suspicion would be because hard courts, you know, especially on the hip, would have more of an impact and are harder to bounce back from.
“My hope is he goes out when he wants to go out, not when we want him to go out. You are talking about a GOAT - greatest of all time - type of athlete.
"You saw from Murray that he doesn't want to go out on injury-like terms, you know, he wants to go out on his terms when he's healthy and competing and it's just like, ‘I can look in the mirror and know I have done everything I could and that's enough'.
"Rafa, from what I've heard, wants to keep playing. You know, he loves the competition, he loves the process, and he loves the sport and we love him for that.
"But if the body doesn't hold up and he feels like he can't get to that type of level health-wise that he needs to, to win majors, then I think he'll quit.
"The question is, when is that? So it is as early as the French, it's as late as playing two or three more years.
"It really depends on how the body holds up, and then obviously he's used to doing so well that if the results aren't there for a consistent period of time, I would expect that he would stop playing then.”
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