‘It Will Get Under His Skin’ – When Martina Navratilova Boldly Predicted Roger Federer’s Downfall on the ATP Tour Owing to Novak Djokovic’s Staggering Rise

For the past 24 years, Roger Federer has been showing his greatness on the tennis court. Despite his impeccable tennis prowess, some notable personalities in the sport doubted his waning ability, including the 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova.

In 2011, Navratilova predicted the downfall of the Swiss Maestro because Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were on the rise and dethroned Federer from the no.1 ranking. In addition, Federer was going through a rough patch in his career at that time, which led Navratilova to believe Federer’s career was ending. 

Martina Navratilova predicted the downfall of Roger Federer in 2011

Notably, Federer dropped to the third spot in the ATP rankings after a series of losses to Djokovic and Nadal. Speaking about it, Navratilova said, “Roger is on the other side of the float, I don’t think he’ll ever play as well as he did three or four years ago – that’s not to say he can’t still win a slam, but it’s difficult to see him climbing back to number one.“

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“Nadal is dominating and Djokovic’s confidence is off the chart. Roger has lost three matches (this season) to Djokovic and lost to him at US Open last year as well, it will get under his skin,” Navratilova further said. 

Safe to say, Federer proved Navratilova wrong in every aspect, as he became no.1 in the world in 2012, and in the same year, he also won the Wimbledon title, his 17th Grand Slam title. After that, he had another bad patch, as he went without a Grand Slam trophy for nearly five years. However, he made a comeback in the 2017 season and won the Australian Open and then the Wimbledon Championships.

The next year, he won his 2oth Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and soon became no.1 in the world. Undoubtedly, the resurgence of Federer shocked many pundits at that time, as he went on to win several other trophies on the tour as well.

Navratilova’s heartfelt retirement message for Federer

In the past couple of years, Federer has had many injury concerns, particularly with his knee. As a result, he went through knee surgery after last year’s Wimbledon. He tried his best to come back to the tour full-time, but his injury has forced him into retirement.

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Yesterday, he announced his retirement from professional tennis via social media. After the news, many former and current tennis players hailed him as one of the greatest ever to play the game. Navratilova also posted a heartfelt message on her official Twitter account, as she wrote, “What a heartfelt message, full of love, life, hope, passion and gratitude… Thank you thank you thank you, for all the magic!!!”

Despite announcing his retirement, Federer will give his fans one last chance to watch him play. Notably, the Laver Cup will be his last tournament on the tour and it will start on the 23rd of September.