Roger Federer hails dawn of new era in tennis, wishes he could face young guns

In an interview with Eurosport, the Swiss great also admitted he wished he was still able to measure himself against some of the new stars in the game like Carlos Alcaraz.

"A lot still going on in tennis of course, as always," he said. "The records will always tumble. Or just the stories always rewritten. And just for example the US Open was great with the record (24 Grand Slam titles) of course by Novak Djokovic.

"And of course I was also very happy about Coco Gauff's victory. I've known her for five years, when she was very young, and this was a great victory for her. We have a new world No 1 in women's tennis (Aryna Sabalenka), Alcaraz, who won Wimbledon.

"And just the new generational change is really noticeable. It's a bit of a shame for me that I haven't been able to play against a few [of the young players] in the last couple of years. But I think it's great what's going on in tennis at the moment and I still follow it very, very closely.

"I think it's still going well, not that there would somehow be a slump after I retired or that Rafa is injured at the moment. The story continues and that will always be the case.

"Tennis will always be played by new players but at the same time, the way I see these players moving on the court now is unbelievable. And I think many more will come. The new players have interesting personalities and tennis is still right up there in the world of sport, and that is beautiful for me to see."

Federer was quick to point out that he is still keeping himself very busy despite his retirement, especially now that he has more time to devote to causes that are near and dear to his heart.

"I'm surprised how much I actually still have going on. I was thinking, so okay, you stop and then there's nothing left to do. But it's not like that at all," he added.

"I'm still very busy with all my partners together or then also for the foundation I'm travelling a lot, was also in Africa for the first time, in Lesotho, with the family. That was absolutely great.

"Then, of course, I was also at the UN right now, working for early learning in the world and especially in southern Africa, so that hopefully more children can go to school, because that needs a lot more money and a lot more opportunities from the big countries.

"And I'm committed to that and then I'm designing shoes, clothes, tennis racquets. So I'm still fully involved and I'm always very happy when there's a new project for me."

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