Federer continued: “You need perseverance, strength, you need everything, and that’s why I think it’s gonna be hard but it’s possible.
“We’ll have to ask also Rod Laver what he thought because he was sitting [in the] first row watching Novak play.
“But what Novak did this year was, of course, truly exceptional.”
Meanwhile, Djokovic was fighting back tears on the court in the immediate aftermath of his US Open final loss.
“Thank you so much, guys,” he said during his trophy ceremony speech as he praised the crowd which had given him a warmer reception than he is perhaps used to.
