Andrea Petkovic believes Roger Federer would have hanged the racket “at 17 GS titles”, if it were not for the rivalries of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
The former WTA #9 also spoke about the excitement she felt when Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka started challenging Iga Swiatek by winning big titles.
The Swiss won his 17th major crown at Wimbledon 2012 after already breaking Pete Sampras’ record of 14 men’s singles Grand Slam titles at the All England Club in 2009. The SW19 specialist then had to wait for almost 5 years to earn his 18th major title which came against his archrival Nadal at Melbourne Park in 2017. He then backed the score by further victories at 2017 Wimbledon and 2018 Australian Open to close his GS count at 20.
Federer, 42 called time on his illustrious 24-year career at 2022 Laver Cup. In the final match of his career, he stayed with his nemesis Nadal on the same side of the net in the doubles Laver Cup rubber.
Petkovic appeared on Tennis Channel’s Inside-In podcast and spoke her mind on whether the lack of rivalries could be an issue for the 2-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz in the future.
“That is a danger. If we put ourselves back into the shoes around 2009, when Roger Federer broke Pete Sampras’ number. If Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic hadn’t appeared on the tour, he would’ve stopped at 17 [Grand Slam titles]. 100%. We would’ve never seen these numbers,” declared the German.
“That’s the most important thing, not only in sports, in politics and art, wherever it is needed to create something really great, to create masterpieces, or to become the best at what you do, you need those rivalries.”
The 2014 French Open semi-finalist argued the emergence of Sabalenka and Rybakina will be beneficial for women’s world No 1 Swiatek.
“I was so excited at the beginning of the year when Sabalenka won the Australian Open because I know from my personal experience and just from watching tennis for almost 20 years now, how important rivalries are,” said Petkovic.
“I was worried if Iga Swiatek just dominates the tour for the next three, four years that she won’t get better and won’t improve as a tennis player. I was so excited when Sabalenka and Rybakina found that consistency and started winning those big tournaments.”
Sabalenka currently sits at #2 sits on WTA tour and reached the semis at both Wimbledon Roland Garros after clinching Australian Open in January. The Belarusian trails Pole by 1,000 pts in the WTA rankings and is expected to close the gap in the upcoming days.