Roger Federer would have the perfect moment to bow out of tennis if he lands a ninth Wimbledon title this year, according to former SW19 hero Michael Stich.
Swiss great Federer has not played on tour for over a year after undergoing knee surgery twice, and Rafael Nadal has matched his tally of grand slam titles during that time.
By winning at the delayed French Open last year, Nadal joined Federer on a record 20 slam titles, with Novak Djokovic just two behind that pair after his Australian Open triumph last week.
At the age of 39, Federer is on the comeback trail and planning to play tournaments in Doha and Dubai in March, building up to Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics, key goals for what might prove to be his final season on tour.
"It is clear that at some point he will stop," Stich, the 1991 Wimbledon champion, told Stats Perform News.
"Many would have thought that already five years ago. We have no influence on that. I would wish for him to win Wimbledon and say after the final: 'You know what, I had a sick time, I'll stop.'
"There couldn't be anything better and that would give so much to the sport."
Stich believes it is "questionable" whether Federer will be capable of success on that scale, but he sees Wimbledon as his greatest opportunity.
"You should never write him off because he is a player who has a gifted set of skills that help him to still play tennis that good at his age," Stich said.
"He may have the problem that the younger generation no longer has this huge respect for him because he was out for a year. The mental side plays a big role there.
"But especially at Wimbledon he is certainly still a candidate for the title, because there he has this mental strength, because there he has the greatest joy.
"The nice thing is that everyone is looking forward to his comeback and wants to see what happens. He has nothing to lose. He doesn't have to prove anything to himself, he doesn't have to prove anything to the fans out there. He's really doing it because he thinks he can still win titles."
With Nadal and Djokovic winning the last two majors, the prospect of Dominic Thiem's US Open win last September triggering a sea change in the men's game has fallen away.
According to Stich, the likes of Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev cannot just wait for the old guard to make way and must instead find a way to disrupt their dominance.
"As a spectator and fan, I naturally wish that the passing of the torch would still happen during the active time of the 'Big Three'," Stich said.
"It's the big goal of all young players that they would like to beat a Roger Federer, a Novak Djokovic, and a Rafael Nadal in a grand slam final. An Andy Murray and a Juan Martin del Potro did it. The only two in what felt like 20 years, and Stan Wawrinka, who is not to be forgotten with three titles.
"It's up to the young generation now and they are no longer 19. They are all 22, 23, 26. Dominic Thiem achieved it at the US Open. One would of course wish that they actively shape this transition, but that is looking into the future."
Stich says he has "no idea when that will happen", but he believes there will be another great generation that emerges, just as tennis moved on from the golden era of Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, and latterly the days when Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi dominated.
"We have a generation in which three players shaped this period extremely," Stich said. "Now is a chance for the others to step into the spotlight. The next generation will follow in their footsteps. I'm not worried about that."
Federer hopes Djokovic, Nadal and Murray 'can keep playing forever'
Roger Federer expressed his hopes for former rivals Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray to "keep playing forever", insisting the ATP Tour is "better with them".
Federer called time on his glittering career in 2022, while the other three - who between them formed tennis' 'big four' - appear not to be far away from joining him in retirement.
Nadal, who will miss Wimbledon to focus on his "last Olympics", and Murray are expected to hang up their racquets this year, with the latter revealing in February that he does not "plan on playing much past this summer".
Meanwhile, 24-time major winner Djokovic is also likely be absent from the grass-court major, having undergone knee surgery following his withdrawal from the French Open last week.
Now in their late 30s, all three players are certainly at the twilight of their remarkable careers.
But Federer, who says the quartet all now "get on super well" after years of rivalry, hopes they are not finished just yet.
"I really don't think there are any words of advice that I can give him," he told BBC Sport. "Retirement is so deeply personal. When you take that decision, everybody is in a completely different circumstance.
"We've gone through similar things, but I'm too far away to give advice. If [Andy] called me up, I'd be happy to answer some questions. He's had this massive hip issue and what he is doing is inspirational.
"I hope Andy, like Rafa and Novak, can keep playing forever, like a fan. The tour is better with them. I was watching Roland-Garros last week, and I was like: 'Wow, they're so good - I used to do that too!'
"It's tricky sometimes and there’s definitely moments when you don't like a certain opponent, but then you like him so much. It's important to remember this as a player - it is just tennis and, in the end, we can be normal.
"You see us being super friendly with each other after the rivalry, and we get on super well."
Raducanu cruises into Nottingham Open quarter-finals after dominant Snigur win
Emma Raducanu cruised into the quarter-finals of the Nottingham Open with a straight-sets victory over Daria Snigur on Thursday.
After making her return from injury in the previous round, Raducanu made light work of the match, winning 6-2, 6-2 as her preparation for Wimbledon continued.
Despite a bright start from Snigur, which saw her break the Briton's serve in the opening game, she could not hold off Raducanu's challenge as she reeled off six games in a row to win the first set.
With her confidence back, Raducanu secured two breaks in the second set to ease through and will face Francesca Jones or Ashlyn Krueger in the next round.
Data Debrief: Raducanu easing back to full threat
After a slightly shaky first round against Ena Shibahara, Raducanu looked a confident figure on the court as she dispatched Snigur.
Her serve proved a highlight as she served 11 aces in the second set, and had a 70 per cent win rate on her first serve throughout the match.
Top seed Pegula out of Libema Open as De Minaur progresses
Top seed Jessica Pegula bowed out of the Libema Open following a three-set defeat by Aleksandra Krunic in s'Hertogenbosch.
The world number five was ousted 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 by the 2018 winner of this event, who claimed the fifth top-10 victory of her career and advanced to the quarter-finals.
Now ranked 400th in the world, Krunic recovered from an earlier break in the opening set to force a tie-break, in which she won five straight points to draw first blood.
The Serbian also cancelled out a break before heading into another tie-break, but Pegula reeled off five points on the spin this time to level.
The American was appearing in her first tournament since April, having missed the European clay-court season with a rib injury.
However, she saw two break-point opportunities go begging in the opening game of the deciding set, and Krunic crucially broke in game three before holding out for an impressive victory.
Later on, Alex de Minaur booked his place in the quarter-finals of the competition after a straight-sets victory over Zizou Bergs.
The world number nine had to work for his victory over the Belgian, overcoming his opponent 7-5 6-4 to earn his first triumph on a grass court this year.
Bergs matched his opponent in the opening exchanges, but the Australian would eventually prevail, winning a break-point and following up without dropping a point in the final game.
De Minaur would again endure a difficult set to confirm the victory as Bergs threatened to level the encounter, but the number one seed again showed his class, finishing the contest in style.
De Minaur will face either Roberto Bautista Agut or Milos Raonic in the next round.
Data Debrief: Krunic rekindles special memories as de Minaur earns maiden grass win
Krunic will forever have an affinity with s-Hertogenbosch, where she won her only career WTA title six years ago.
And the 31-year-old claimed an impressive scalp here to reach her first WTA quarter-final since 2022 - and first on grass since that 2018 triumph.
De Minaur impressed once again, winning 86 per cent of his first serve points against the Belgian.
Their meeting in s-Hertogenbosch was the first between the pair, with De Minaur able to overcome his quarter-final defeat to Alexander Zverev at the French Open.
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