Federer still tops, say peers

Macau - Rafael Nadal may have completed his career Grand Slam at the US Open, but at least some of his peers in the top echelons of men's tennis still consider Roger Federer to be the best in the world.

Nadal's win at Flushing Meadows earlier this month gave him his ninth major. He has also won five times at the French Open, twice at Wimbledon and once in Australia. Federer's tally is record 16 - six Wimbledons, five U.S. Opens, four Australian titles and a lone French. The top-ranked Spaniard is also Davis Cup and Olympic singles champion - two achievements that have so far eluded his Swiss rival.

"Rafa is probably the best player in the history of Spain. But in the world, at this moment - maybe it's Federer because he has more Grand Slams and more titles," fellow Spaniard David Ferrer said Saturday in the southern Chinese city Macau on the sidelines of a four-man exhibition.

Sweden's Robin Soderling agreed, saying: "He has won so many Grand Slams already, so many titles, but to me, Roger is still the best." Czech Tomas Berdych added: "To be the player who won the most Grand Slams, he is still missing a couple of them. Still, I think it is a long way to go for him."

The players in Macau were quick to point out that the 24-year-old Nadal is five years younger than Federer and still has a long career ahead of him, barring injuries.

"Rafa is a very strong player. He can improve a lot and win a lot of tournaments and a lot of Grand Slams," said the 11th-ranked Ferrer.

"Rafa is still very young. If he's going to be healthy, if he has a lot more years to play, he could definitely give it a shot. I think he has the chance to be known as the world's best player ever," said Soderling. The fifth-ranked Swede lost to Nadal in this year's French Open final.

Retired American tennis great Pete Sampras on Thursday told reporters Nadal could surpass Federer's haul of 16 majors - if he stays healthy. There has been much speculation about the longevity of the Spaniard's career given his physically demanding baseline style.

The four of the quartet of players in Macau dodged questions of tennis history.

"I beat him five times. I really enjoyed it," said Nikolay Davydenko. The sixth-ranked Russian has the rare distinction of a 5-4 winning record against Nadal.

The players were also asked about the difficulty of winning a Grand Slam tournament in an era dominated by Federer and Nadal.

"I think I can say for all of us here that I think everybody is trying to chase them as close as possible," said Berdych, a losing Wimbledon finalist this year to Nadal.

Soderling acknowledged the difficulty of that task.

"It's not easy today," he said. "I wish it were a lot easier."