Roger Federer is happy he was competing in the same era as Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
The trio are three of the greatest tennis players of all time and are currently locked in a fierce battle to go down as the best.
Federer currently holds most of the records but he is at least five years older than the pair, so they have plenty of time to chase him down.
However, if Nadal and Djokovic competed in a different era then Federer may have had even more dominance and silverware.
But the Swiss star believes that would have brought about different challenges.
“You need good rivals and also like the young generation like Sacha Zverev, these players are really important and a bit of a catalyst to keep on improving,” Federer told Mexican TV station Aztec Deportes during his South American exhibition tour.
“I know they are working hard right now, some are on vacation and some are not.
“You have to keep reinventing yourself and I’ve done that in a way where I am thankful that our lives and tours have been aligned.
“People think maybe I would have won more if Rafa and Novak hadn’t been around.
“Potentially, but also if they weren’t around somebody else would have been.
“I am grateful they have made me a better player as well.”
Meanwhile, Federer also explained why he feels Nadal is better placed to beat his records than Djokovic.
“It is interesting because they have completely different careers,” he added. “Right now I would say Rafa because of what he did at the French Open and he is world No 1 right now.
“He has that first time of being world No 1 was 11 years ago and he did it again this year.
“And he has more Grand Slam titles, even though I know Novak has more weeks at world No 1 and he has maybe more years on the tour left, who knows.
“But Rafa was an incredible teenager, the best one we ever had along with Bjorn Borg.
“For me at the moment it is still Rafa. But there is still plenty to play for and it will be really interesting for them.”
