Tennis news - Roger Federer says Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal have a 'different mindset' to him right now

ByEurosport

Updated 28/09/2021 at 14:44 GMT

Roger Federer says that his long-time rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are in a position to chase more Grand Slam titles right now. For him, meanwhile, his primary ambition is just to get back to competitive action as he aims to fully recover from three knee surgeries in time for the Australian Open in 2022.

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Roger Federer says Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic "have a different mindset" to him at the moment as he continues his comeback from three knee surgeries.

Nadal and Djokovic are tied with the Swiss on 20 Grand Slams each and Federer's rivals have competed more regularly on the tour and in Grand Slams since 2020.

The 40-year-old Swiss had two knee operations last year then further surgery after a quarter-final exit at Wimbledon. He said in August that he is targeting a return to the court in 2022.

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But Federer admits that his two rivals are in the mindset of challenging for titles while he just wants to get back to playing again.

"I think his [Djokovic's] year again has been phenomenal," Federer told GQ magazine.

"It's going to be very interesting to see, for all three of us, how our careers continue. I mean, it's amazing, to be honest, that all three of us are at 20 Grand Slams. Wow.

"When I was coming up the record was 12 and "Pistol" [Pete Sampras] got to it, you know, and went up to 14.

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"Then I passed him in 2009, making it 15. That was clearly a huge moment for me, tying with him in Paris and then breaking it when at Wimbledon.

But I think the others are in a different mindset to me at the moment. I think all of us would obviously like to win more and do more, because that's what you need to be like at this level.

"Like you said, losing in the quarters of Wimbledon normally is not good enough, but, for me, you know, the road has been hard and long and so my perspective is a little bit different."

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Federer's third knee operation led to his withdrawal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He admits after a long injury layoff that he is unsure how long he will be able to continue playing for.

He added: "The Olympic decision was purely based on the knee and I knew I shouldn't play.

"Of course, I would put everything on the line for the Olympics and big, big occasions, but no, I was not 100 per cent. And maybe that's also partially an explanation for the face I pulled [at Wimbledon], the disappointment and anger and everything at the very end of the game.

"But it's part of an athlete's career, you know, to deal with setbacks. And that's one thing that I need to figure out: how I can move on from here."