"Without Nadal and Djokovic, Federer could have won 30 grand slams" - says Mats Wilander

Eurosport's Mats Wilander has given his views on the great rivalries between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

The legendary trio all started the year on 20 Grand Slam singles titles, with Nadal having added two more to his tally at the Australian Open and French Open.While Nadal and Djokovic are vying for another major title at Wimbledon this week, Federer is still recovering from injury and has hinted that he will have one last tilt at SW19 to come next year.

Wilander said:

“I think both of them have taken the game to a different level. Without Rafa and Novak, Roger could have maybe won 30 Grand Slams, but that’s kind of irrelevant. He was pushed to a different level by those two. As a tennis player, you’re not going out there to win the most majors, you’re going out there to improve your game and get to a certain level."

He further added:

"Why does Rafa see Roger as his greatest rival? I think it has to do with history, of course, the matches you play… but also the enjoyment factor of playing against the opponent. How can you not enjoy playing against Roger Federer? I think Rafa enjoyed playing Roger maybe more than Roger enjoyed playing Rafa because Rafa was the youngster, a leftie… difficult. The contrast of style [as well]. It’s the most interesting rivalry for me.”