Roger Federer will find it “incredibly difficult” to win a Grand Slam in 2020. That is according to the man he beat to win his first major at Wimbledon in 2003, Mark Philippoussis.
Federer finishes 2019 still on 20 Grand Slams after failing to add to his haul.
But crucially his lead in the all-time list has been reduced to just one after Rafael Nadal won the French Open and US Open.
While Novak Djokovic also closed the gap as he moved to 16 after victories at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Federer had a golden opportunity to move to 21 at Wimbledon but squandered two championship points against Djokovic which proved costly as the Serbian fought to win at SW19 for the fifth time.
And it now raises the possibility of Nadal and Djokovic equaling Federer in 2020.
Federer already appears resigned to the likelihood of his record being beaten, recently claiming: “I cannot stop them. What [I can] do is only control what I can control.”
And opening up during an interview with Express Sport, Philippoussis was similarly pessimistic despite his respect for the Swiss star.
He said: “I wouldn’t say their stranglehold [of Grand Slams] will end [in 2020].
“I think Djokovic is looking strong if he stays healthy for the next three or four years at least.
“Rafa is looking so strong. I can’t see him going anywhere for another one or two years.
“Federer is a different story, not that I am doubting him. It was a tough one for him at Wimbledon. Those two match points are going to be a tough pill to swallow.
“He’s definitely going to be thinking about those ones because we know how much he values Grand Slams. That’s pretty much what he plays for these days.
“Wimbledon was the chance to get to 21. If he has another opportunity, it might have to be at Wimbledon next year but past that it is going to be incredibly difficult. Not impossible but incredibly difficult.
“Maybe the Australian Open too who knows. It has been incredibly fast the last few years as far as [court] speed and pace. But it is definitely going to get tougher and tougher for him, that’s for sure.”
If the ‘big three’ are to be challenged at the Grand Slams, Stefanos Tsitsipas leads the chasing pack after winning the ATP Finals in November.
But Philippoussis name-checked six players who he believes can step up.
He said: “Hopefully Tsitsipas, [Dominic] Thiem and [Alexander] Zverev will step up. I really like the game of [Denis] Shapovalov.
“He’s yet to put it together, I feel like he still needs to mature his game. He’s young but been around for a few years now but he’s got a beautiful game.
“[Grigor] Dimitrov didn’t have a great year at all but came on strong at the end of the year and I’m hoping he can maybe get some confidence going for next year and give it a run in the Grand Slams.
“We know he has the athleticism and the passion for it. I just think sometimes his self-belief gets in his way because he is the kind of guy that needs to play with confidence.
“And the only problem with him is the serve. When he’s not serving well, unfortunately, his game tries to play catch up.
“It is unfair to leave [Daniil] Medvedev out because he’s going to be the guy competing for those Grand Slams as well.
“I hope one of these guys step up next year and make it interesting and fun.”