Tennis great Roger Federer says he hopes his former rival Rafael Nadal can retire from the sport 鈥渙n his own terms鈥 following the Spaniard鈥檚 recent struggles with injury.

Nadal hasn鈥檛 played competitive tennis since injuring a hip muscle during his second-round Australian Open defeat by Mackenzie McDonald in January. The 22-time grand slam champion said in May that next season will be his last on the tour.

Federer was beset by injuries in the final years of his career, overcoming knee surgery once to return and win three more grand slams, before further injuries eventually got the better of him.

In the end, Federer was only fit enough to bring the curtain down on his remarkable career by playing doubles alongside Nadal at the Laver Cup in London and the Swiss superstar hopes his long-time rival and friend can be more competitive in his final year.

鈥淚 mean, all of us: [Andy] Murray, [Novak] Djokovic, Nadal and me, I think the four of us when I retired were all sitting there crying about me retiring 鈥 or because of the music, who knows,鈥 Federer told CNN鈥檚 Christina Macfarlane, a reference to pop singer Ellie Goulding, who sang 鈥淪till Falling For You鈥 and 鈥淔ire and Ice鈥 at that emotional goodbye at the O2 Arena.

鈥淓verybody had their own reasons why they were crying. I think you realize how fortunate we are to still be playing at this later stage of our careers because tennis players used to retire at 30. I mean, 26 for [Björn] Borg, 32 for [Pete] Sampras, 36 for [Andre] Agassi. This was like playing deep and now here we are all sitting there around 35-40.

鈥淲e all know how fortunate we are and so I think Rafa knew that, too. So seeing him going through this more difficult period now, obviously I鈥檝e been there and I just hope that he can go out on his terms [and] he can still play a little bit.

鈥淚 still hope we鈥檒l see not just the doubles like I did, but more than that. I still believe that鈥檚 going to happen.鈥

鈥業NCREDIBLE STUFF'

Heading into Wimbledon, few fans 鈥 if any 鈥 will have been betting against Djokovic successfully defending his title at this year鈥檚 tournament.

The Serb looked at his imperious best on the grass in his straightforward first-round win over Pedro Cachín and another title in SW19 would equal Federer鈥檚 records of five straight Wimbledon crowns 鈥 held jointly with Borg 鈥 and eight overall.

Federer believes Djokovic is the 鈥渂ig, big favorite鈥 this year and welcomes the 23-time grand slam champion breaking his records and setting new benchmarks in the sport.

鈥淗onestly, I think it鈥檚 great for him,鈥 Federer said. 鈥淚 had my moments. For me, having won my eighth or my fifth in a row or whatever it may be, that was my moment. So if somebody equals that or passes that, this is their thing, their moment.

鈥淚 know nowadays it鈥檚 especially media driven as well as player driven. I was driven as well by trying to break records, to equal records, but I think as you sit back, you have a totally different perspective as you鈥檙e not in it anymore. You start relaxing, just very proud of your achievements.

鈥淪o I hope he does it to be honest, because I think anything more he does adds to tennis history, goes above and beyond just talking tennis. He goes into global sports, like when he went to 23 in Paris. This is incredible stuff. Great news and it鈥檚 good for the game. So I think he鈥檚 the heavy favorite and I wouldn鈥檛 be surprised if he wins Wimbledon again.鈥

FEDERER THE COACH?

Since retiring, Federer has become something of a part-time coach to his four children 鈥 not that they鈥檙e always eager to listen to his advice.

As he settles into family life away from the demands of being a professional tennis player, constantly traveling the world and spending little time at home, returning to the tour as a full-time coach isn鈥檛 something that currently appeals to the 41-year-old.

However, pointing to the change of heart his former coach Stefan Edberg had, it鈥檚 not something Federer is ruling out entirely.

鈥淚 think the coaching on the tour like we know it I think is difficult for me,鈥 Federer said. 鈥淗aving four children at the age of, twin boys nine now and twin girls 14, I want to be there for them and I can鈥檛 see myself going on tour, honestly.

鈥淚f it鈥檚 mentoring or if somebody comes to Switzerland and says: 鈥楲ook, let鈥檚 have a good week,鈥 I can see that in the future happening. I mean, Stefan Edberg never thought he was going to coach and he ended up coming on tour with me for two years.鈥

Reflecting on the ascendancy of tennis鈥 new star and world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, Federer predicted a bright future for the 19-year-old Spaniard.

鈥淚 think he will achieve incredible, great things in the future, which means multiple slams,鈥 said Federer.

鈥淚t will be interesting for me to see especially how he鈥檚 going to play at Wimbledon and especially the first few matches 鈥 it鈥檚 soft, it鈥檚 it鈥檚 slippery. You鈥檝e got to take that little extra step. You start losing confidence in your movement. Next thing you know, you鈥檙e not playing so well. And then things become tricky.

鈥淏ut I think he鈥檚 got all the tools, so I think he鈥檚 got a lot of different ways to win matches, and I think that鈥檚 what the champions are made of.鈥