Former World No 1 Boris Becker believes that the new rackets used by current players such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal allow them to play shots that were not possible with a wooden racquet. The German is keen for the duo to play with a wooden racket for once to see how it affects their game.

The likes of Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe did not have the benefit of these new technical rackets and made their way up the ladder using a wooden racket. The wooden racket made it more difficult for the player to hit the ball with accuracy, leading to more mistakes and they would have had to adapt their game to match the current generation.

Meanwhile, Federer is gunning to become the oldest World No 1 eclipsing Andre Agassi's record, who was 33 years old when he became the top ranked player in 2003. Federer only has to reach the semi-finals in the Rotterdam Open next week to guarantee his return to the top of the ATP World Rankings.

Becker has no doubt that Nadal and Federer are two of the best players to have ever set foot on the court but insists that they have been helped by the advent of better rackets .

"It makes it difficult, for sure. I started with a wooden racket and you simply could not do some of the things guys like Federer and Nadal have done in recent years using that type of equipment," Becker told Tennis 365.

"It would not have been possible. So they would have had to adapt their styles. I would love to see Federer and Nadal play a match with a wooden racket and see how they get on.

"It was a very different sport when McEnroe and Borg did their thing, but clearly the guys winning the big tournaments now deserve to be respected."

Roger Federer
Roger Federer can become the world number one with a good run at the Rotterdam Open beginning on 12 February Getty
Roger Federer Rafael Nadal