Calcutta: If Roger Federer remains injury free, he still has it in him to beat the best in the business and win a Grand Slam or two, feels his former coach Tony Roche.
Federer is all set to compete in the Australian Open early next year after being sidelined with a knee injury for which he is undergoing rehabilitation.
"I think Roger can continue for another two-three years and be a major force in the game if he remains injury free... No reason why he can't be successful," Roche told The Telegraph on the sidelines of the Premjit Lall Invitational tournament at the Jaidip Mukerjea Tennis Academy on Friday.
The beginning of 2017, Roche feels, is certainly going to be an interesting one.
"Once Roger is fit, I do believe he can win a Grand Slam or two. But yes, (Andy) Murray, considering how he is playing at the moment, has taken the game to a new level altogether. He has dominated the second half of the year, while Novak (Djokovic) dominated the first half.
"So, the beginning of 2017 is going to be very interesting." Elaborating on it, Roche added: "Look, Murray is the in-form player, while Novak will have to fight to get his form back. You have also got Federer and (Rafael) Nadal coming back from injuries.
"(Stanislas) Wawrinka is always dangerous, particularly in Grand Slams. The youngsters like (Nick) Kyrgios and (Alexander) Zverev and even (Milos) Raonic can do well next year. But everything depends on if these players can avoid getting injured."
Talking about Murray's rise this year and Djokovic's recent slump, Roche highlighted the importance of Ivan Lendl's presence that has been a major influence on the Scot. But he also urged Djokovic's opponents to be mindful of the Serb's Australian Open record.
"To talk of Novak, it's very hard to maintain such intensity. He dominated the first half of the year, but it's never easy to sustain it.
"Mentally, it drains you out sometimes. So, staying at the top for over a long period of time is really difficult.
"I think Murray has the edge at the moment because he has Lendl in his corner. And as you know, when Lendl first worked with Murray, he helped the guy to get his first Grand Slam and the Olympic gold medal. So obviously, Lendl has made a huge difference to Murray
"But don't forget, Novak plays very well in Australia. His record is fantastic."
According to Roche, the emphasis should be on getting good development programmes as players at a junior level must go overseas for good exposure should tennis in India reach greater heights.
"The focus should be now on getting good development programmes because you have done it before. And if you have done well before, you can do well again.
"I think it also comes down to finance, obviously. You got to have a good base while kids must also go overseas to get good exposure. So, hopefully that's what people should be focusing on here," he said.
"The main reason I am here now is to honour Premjit. He was a very good friend of mine and with Jaidip and Krish (Ramanathan Krishnan), I think that was the golden year of Indian tennis... Would be good if India can go back to those days."
