Roger Federer 'will not win' a Grand Slam in 2022, says former US Open doubles champ

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are all locked on 20 men's singles Grand Slam titles going into the 2022 season. The Australian Open in January will be the first opportunity for one of the Big Three to move ahead and hold the record individually, but Pam Shriver feels the Swiss ace will not be in contention at any major next season.

While Djokovic will be the favourite in Australia, the world number one's participation remains in doubt owing to his reluctance to speak about his vaccination status. Victoria premier Daniel Andrews has insisted that unvaccinated athletes will not be granted a visa to the country if they are not fully jabbed.

Meanwhile, Federer and Nadal will enter the new season on the back of injury-plagued campaigns in 2021. The Swiss former world number one has played just 13 matches since the 2020 Australian Open and has undergone three knee surgeries. Nadal has played just two matches since losing to Djokovic in the semifinals at Roland Garros earlier this year.

Djokovic is currently competing at the Paris Masters where he faces American Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals, and is expected to play the year-end ATP Finals in Turin. Nadal has announced that he hopes to return at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships in December before heading to Australia to play an event before the first major of the year.

Federer, on the other hand, is yet to return to the practice court having ended his season early owing to a recurrence of his knee injury from the 2020 season. It is because of this, that former American women's tennis star Shriver feels the Swiss maestro will not be at the level of the other top players to challenge for a major title in 2022.

"I can not see Roger Federer winning a major in 2022. Novak Djokovic will extend his major tally next year and probably go to 22 major titles. I believe Rafael Nadal can win one major, and the fourth should go to Daniil Medvedev or someone who has never won one before," Pam Shriver said, as quoted on Tennis World USA.