Tennis legend Martina Navratilova said Wednesday she could not see Roger Federer being the leading player in men's tennis again.
Federer has won a record 16 grand slam men's singles titles in becoming an all-time great of the sport, while also topping the rankings for 237 weeks in succession.
The Swiss superstar was now down to number three in the standings, though, after his Indian Wells defeat to the in-form Novak Djokovic, who went on to beat Rafael Nadal in the final.
Djokovic's success saw him replace Federer as number two in the world, and Navratilova expects him and Nadal to fight it out among themselves for the next few years.
Federer could still add to his grand slam tally, according to Navratilova, but he will find it hard to play consistently well enough to go back to the top of the rankings.
"He lost in the semi and Djokovic beat Nadal in the final, so Djokovic is certainly playing great tennis," said Navratilova at the launch of the Liverpool International Tennis tournament.
"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," she said. "That's not to say he can't still win a slam, but it's difficult to see him climbing back to number one."
She added, "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 [the] US Open last year as well. It will get under his skin."
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