On the Australian Open
Do you think the Australian Open is one of the most unpredictable Slams given that it’s at the start of the season and no one really knows where they’re at?
I think it’s the most unpredictable Slam in terms of not the final winner because that seems to be one of the top three but I think it’s the most unpredictable in terms of upsets.  I’m not sure if it’s that guys are not 100% prepared because they haven’t played any matches in November and December, if it’s that they come in with good confidence because they haven’t played matches.  I’m not really sure what it is but it is the most unpredictable in terms of causing upsets.

What excites you most about the tournament?
I think the biggest excitement about going to Australia for 95% of the players is thank God I’m outdoors playing tennis again. I don’t have any bad confidence from maybe the week before or two weeks before and bad confidence is not an accumulative effect of having lost in the last two months three or four matches because no one has played any.  So I think you arrive with a fresh outlook on tennis and you don’t really know where you stand in terms of playing matches and winning the important points, so to speak, because you haven’t played enough matches in the last two months to build up any good or bad memories.

Australia to me is all about having to arrive with the right attitude, knowing you are most probably not 100% physically and you don’t have the matches in your baggage that you wanted but on the other hand you also have good confidence because you haven’t lost matches in the last two months.  Some players have a problem playing when they are not 100% prepared both physically and emotionally with confidence being high.  Some players have a problem fighting at a 100% level but most players like playing with no pressure.

So who are your favourites to win the Australian Open on the men’s and women’s side?
Well women, it is hard to say, I can’t even tell you on the women’s side. I can tell you who I think will be the dominant players in the year but for the men it is Novak, Rafa, Roger, Tsitsipas, Medvedev, those are the five then I think there is a group behind that has Shapovalov, Nick Kyrgios even, Katchanov is in there and in the third group of players I think there are five favourites and another five to ten second favourites and then you have people outside the top 15 but I think today it is very difficult to say the top four are going to get to the semis. 

I would be very surprised if we don’t have a Hurkacz in the semis or a Katchanov in the semis or Shapavalov in the semis, if we don’t have one of them I’d be very surprised. 

Do you see any player as a favourite?
Obviously Novak Djokovic has won eight times or seven times, I think he’s the big favourite because it’s also five sets.  I think he’s the big favourite.  I think Rafa is the second favourite because of doing well in Davis Cup and now he is playing well in ATP Cup.  He hasn’t really taken a break at the end of the year so I  don’t think we will see a reaction from Rafa until after the Australian Open.  So for the Australian Open I think that Novak is the slight favourite ahead of Nadal and then I think Federer and Tsitsipas and other players like Medvedev, they are a bit behind but I would say Novak is the big favourite for sure.

On the men’s draw at the Australian Open
Do you think they are both the top two favourites to win the Open?  Do you think one or the other is better at the moment to win the Australian Open?
I really think that the Australian Open has become a little bit of a problem for Rafa. The main reason why it is a small problem for Rafa is that the courts are playing very fast, I would say it is the fastest hard courts that they play on the whole year and I think for Rafa he has improved on every different surface, of course he has but when it comes to playing on a fast hard court to me it’s his worst surface. Obviously indoors is not good either but fast hard court is not a great surface for him because everybody else, they enjoy playing against Nadal on a fast hard court so I think for Novak, if Novak is in Australia in a decent form I think he is by far the favourite to win the Australian Open because he knows how to, he’s done it so many times. He knows if I can win the Australian Open I am going to have a great year, it’s a good start of the year. 

There are so many good things that will happen to Novak if he wins the Australian Open that I think he’s by far the favourite, between them, between them.  There might be some other guys that are as big a favourite but in terms of Nadal and Djokovic and Federer, I would say Novak is the big favourite.

Who do you think can win the tournament besides Djokovic and Nadal?
I think again every Grand Slam these days it seems that we have more players that can upset Djokovic and Nadal and Federer and they can upset … there’s Shapavalov, there’s Felix Auger-Alliasime, there’s Medvedev, there’s Khachanov, even Rublev, I mean there’s just on and on and on and on, there are so many good young players that seem to not have the respect of the Big Three like they used to and obviously it’s because the Big Three are not winning absolutely everything but I think because they’re young. 

When it comes to players that can win the tournament, I still don’t think there are that many players that can win the tournament because on the day I look at Roger Federer, he’s playing Denis Shapavalov on that day, I will say well Roger is the favourite so it’s very difficult to say Roger is the favourite to win the tournament but in the individual match that he’s playing on that day it’s hard to say that Roger and Serena Williams are not the favourites, do you know what I mean?  They always figure out a way to beat the person they’re playing so I think that Tsitsipas has a chance to win and I think that Medvedev has a chance to win because there’s something different about their mindset.  I think they feel that they belong, I think the other players, the Big Three, feel that Tsitsipas and Medvedev belong, they behave like they belong, they have games that are slightly more mature than let’s say Shapavalov and Rublev maybe so I think Tsitsipas and Medvedev are the ones who have a chance of being the favourites in my book.

On the Next Generation
The younger generations like Tsitsipas and Thiem are looking stronger, could it be the moment when the domination of the Big Three comes to an end? 
I think not, no, I don't think yet.  Yes, I do believe that in tennis the younger guys are getting closer and closer and in tennis I think some of the young guys are actually better but we are not talking about tennis, when you are talking three out of five sets we are not really only talking about tennis, we are talking about an emotional marathon race.  You have to be up, you have to be down, up-down, up-down, you have to play well in certain situations, you have to relax in certain situations and three out of five sets is so different from what everybody grows up with in the juniors and on the regular tour. 

I do believe and I think the ATP Finals in London showed that they are not the best ball strikers any more or the best movers but there are still certain things that they are better at and I think they are still better at being consistent on the different surfaces.  So to them it doesn’t really matter if it is grass, clay or hard court, they will somehow figure out a way to play the right way if it’s windy or sunny or cold or warm, it doesn’t matter to them, they know how to deal with the situation and three out of five sets is that same thing that they know how to play three out of five set matches better than the rest therefore I do believe that they are still going to be the Top Three. Of course Federer is getting older, we don’t know what the last three months have done to him but I still think they are the top three in the world in Grand Slams. 

Do you think Tsitsipas, Thiem, Medvedev can reach the level of the Big Three?
In the future, not this season maybe. I don’t imagine Thiem reaching the same level, I don’t imagine Medvedev reaching the same level. I do imagine that Stefanos Tsitsipas has a very good chance of reaching very high because the psychology of Tsitsipas is very strong, sometimes not the best but it’s very strong.  He cares and when you care as much as he does that gives you a chance to be a multiple Grand Slam winner so I think Tsitsipas has a chance. I think Felix Auger-Alliasime has a chance because he is professional enough and consistent.  I don’t know about Dominic Thiem being consistent enough mentally to reach the top of the game.  I think he can win a Grand Slam for sure or two but I don’t see Dominic Thiem winning five or six Grand Slams but I see Tsitsipas winning five or six Grand Slams and I see Auger-Alliasime winning five or six. Maybe Denis Shapovalov, the way he has played lately but it is not easy to have the same mindset as Roger, Rafa and Novak and Andy Murray.

Which young players do you like most?  Tsitsipas or Medvedev or is there anyone?
To me it is very difficult with the young players today because they are all so different.  In terms of attitude I think you have great attitude for Tsitsipas, Medvedev, Denis Shapovalov has good attitude these days, Felix Auger-Alliasime has good attitude but their games are so very different.  It starts with attitude for me and their attitude today, the young players, I think they have grown up watching Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal more than anybody else and with that comes good attitude and I think the young players today, 19, 20, 21, 22, they have great attitude because they have watched great attitude for so many years that this is the only way to behave. 

I think who is my favourite?  I know that Tsitsipas is going to get as much out of his game as he can, I don’t think anyone will get more out of his game than Tsitsipas because I think he cares the most and he is willing to come forwards and he is willing to change his game depending on the situation, more so than the other young players but is his backhand good enough to win a Grand Slam with Novak and Rafa in the field?  Most probably not yet.

On Rafa Nadal
Do you see Nadal capable of still leading the ranking and maybe winning another Grand Slam?
Well I would definitely say he is definitely going to win a Grand Slam, yes.  I cannot imagine Nadal still playing tennis if he doesn’t win a Grand Slam, I think that he knows obviously you have to be lucky, you have to have a good draw, you have to be lucky, you have to have no injuries, you have to be 95% in physical form to be able to win a Grand Slam so yes, let’s say that he is that.  If he is playing in a tournament he is going to win Grand Slams, I think Rafa is too smart, he is too good a player to be playing if he didn’t think he could win and if he thinks he can win that means he is physically good enough to win. So yes, Nadal will win a Grand Slam this year but I am not sure if can stay number one in the world, that’s the only thing.  I feel like because the long season last year with the Davis Cup and now the ATP Cup, I feel that he is going to have one time this year when he needs a break and that’s never good for your ranking.  But is he playing for the ranking?  Not to begin with, I think he’s playing to win a Grand Slam and if it works out then yeah, he would want to be number one too but I think he is trying to win another Grand Slam or two and he will for sure.  I think this is the year when Rafa Nadal will become the greatest player of all time on paper. 

I can never compare them on court because how do you compare Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal?  That’s impossible.  Roger Federer is five years older, six years older, blah-blah.  No, you can’t but on paper Nadal will become the best player of all time this season, I think he will.

Nadal looks as strong as he’s been for a few years wouldn’t you say?
I would say yes but the only worry or warning sign for him is this is a team competition and he is playing for way more than just himself and it is not that easy to suddenly saddle up again and suddenly no one really cares about me anymore, it is just me and my team whereas before he was playing for his teammates and his country and blah-blah-blah, on and on.  So it is not as simple as saying he is perfectly prepared because he is playing great when it means most probably more to him to win Davis Cup and ATP Cup than it does winning other tournaments on tour and it is a different mindset from playing singles on your own, no one on court helping you, rooting for you, no team practising with you and on and on and on.  There are a lot of positive things by him winning and caring as much as he does but there is bound to be a slightly let down and he could run into problems I think.

On Roger Federer
Can Roger Federer win the Australian Open again this year?
Yes, I think so.  Last year’s loss to Tsitsipas will obviously be a sour memory for him that I think plagued him for the rest of the year in many ways when he did not play a good match even though the conditions and opponents were sort of perfect and he showed the rest of the world that he is human so to speak, in terms of not playing his best tennis, getting a little nervous, admitting to maybe not playing his best tennis on the biggest stage in the world. 

At the same time being a little quicker and making his serve more of a weapon I think is purpose for him, probably more so than at Wimbledon and having players – the biggest problem for him I think is that Novak and Rafa will come and they are so prepared this  year which is probably the biggest problem for Federer but at the same time he most probably won his most surprising Grand Slam. apart from the first one maybe, in ’17 and then maybe ’18 too so miracles still happen in Melbourne for Roger Federer and that would be a confidence boost I guess.

On Novak Djokovic
It almost goes without saying that Novak Djokovic is always going to be one of the favourites in Melbourne, his record is kind of ridiculous down the years.  Who would you put as the favourite at the moment?
I think Novak is the favourite because of his record and the fact that he’s playing the ATP Cup makes him really prepared.  I think the other thing is this surface kind of favours Novak because his serve is a weapon, the first shot in the rally being the return of serve becomes the weapon, he has to get a racquet on the serve and the ball shoots back through the court.  So I think yes, you say the first two shots of the rally being his serve and his return are so important at the Australian Open and it is just fast enough where he gets rewarded for doing what he does best which is return of serve and placement of the first serve, it becomes a weapon on the faster courts at Melbourne, just like Federer. So Novak is a big favourite but can he beat Nadal in a five set match?  That’s what we don’t know because Nadal seems to mentally be somehow back to take on Novak again in the career and I don’t think that was necessarily expected by most of us and I don’t think Novak expected Nadal to be hanging around still. 

On Alexander Zverev
Everybody knows that he has the potential but he seems at the moment at least not to improve. How can you explain that?  Is it because he shows too much emotion on court? 
Well when he serves well he doesn’t struggle as much so the service is important for him obviously.  I think he always has good attitude and yes, he does show emotion but he has a good attitude.  You know Sasha is going to be prepared, as prepared as he can be, because he is the ultimate professional and obviously the confidence is not going to be at the highest because of the last few months or whatever but I think Sasha is a player who is going to be consistent throughout his whole career and is going to have times when he is serving well and then everything else comes easy.

Tactically he is probably not quite where he needs to be compared to the top players in the world, he is a little bit too passive for me but also he is still very young and we have to understand that he has most probably proven to the rest of the world that he belongs at the top of the game and sometimes it is not that easy to find the motivation all the time when you have already been in the top three for the last years.  I think we have to have a bit of patience and it is a matter of time before he comes back and is again one of the five, six best players in the world.  Can he win a Grand Slam?  That’s something we will never know until he wins one.  I am not sure, five sets seems to be a problem for Sasha, not tennis the game but playing five sets seems to be a problem that he hasn’t solved quite yet.

Is there any explanation?
Yes, there is an explanation.  In terms of playing five sets you have to play tactically, you have to be very, very good.  You have to be understanding that a tennis match of five sets has momentum switches back and forth and you are not going to play great for the whole match and you are not going to play horrible for the whole match because you have that extra distance to play so I think tactically you have to be very smart in terms of what do I do now, when do I change, when do I not change?  What happens when I am up two sets to love, do I play the same way I did or do I change it a little bit?  I don’t think he hasn’t quite figured out what he needs to do depending on who is in the match and I think he will find it but with some players it is not natural to play five sets. 

For me it was the most natural, I had time and I enjoyed having time on my side.  Rafa enjoys having time on his side and I think Roger Federer enjoys having time to solve problems but for Sasha so far it hasn’t quite worked out.  If he starts bad he doesn’t quite come out of playing bad and if he is playing good, it seems he is not quite prepared for when he’s not playing good so it is more of a learning situation and he hasn’t had to learn how to win matches at an early age because he has won  so much already so why is he not doing it now?  It will take him a little bit of time to understand I think how he needs to play in five sets.

Do you think he has enough time to learn this?  He is 22.
It is early in his career yet, so yes he has enough time.  In terms of the Australian Open and being on a faster court, maybe not enough time this time around because when the courts are faster on the men’s side, the serve is a weapon for everybody and for him, his serve is a weapon on every surface but then Roger Federer’s serve is a weapon as well so the faster court is not a great situation for Sasha being a little bit taller, playing a little bit further back from the baseline, this is most probably, for me, the Australian Open is the worst surface for him.  So I have no expectations and there are no expectations from the outside except for maybe the Germans but from the rest of the world, there is not really any pressure on Sasha to make any of the finals or to win a slam at the moment and I think as a player sometimes playing with no pressure can be a benefit.

Is it a good solution if your father is your coach as well or could it be a difficulty?
I think the coach has nothing to do with being your friend or father or brother or mother, I think it’s more what is your relationship like off the court with the person who is trying to tell you what they believe you should be doing on the tennis court and sometimes it works being the father or the mother and sometimes it doesn’t. So far it seems  to have worked and it seems like Sasha was doing very well until he hired Ivan Lendl and Lendl was successful with Andy Murray but he has not been such a success with Sasha so I think maybe they rushed a good coach too early in his career.  I think it takes some time for him to understand.

I feel like they are searching for a different situation than he’s in and I would say that Sasha Senior is most probably like Toni Nadal, I’m not sure you could find a better coach for Sasha than his father but at the same time maybe it is time for him to make decisions on his own and take responsibility rather than listening to somebody who cares more about him than himself. 

On Stefanos Tsitsipas
Do you expect Stefano Tsitsipas to continue his development?  His progress seemed to slow but he had a pretty good end to last season.
Yes, I don’t see how anything can stop Tsitsipas, I think he has goals that are beyond what anyone from the outside has for him.  I think his own private goals are set much higher than what us or any outsiders are setting for him so yes, there most probably will be a reaction to him playing at this level at a very young age at some point but maybe not.  Some players didn’t have the reaction when they were young and they did very well but we have also seen Zverev having a reaction where maybe the pressure is too much.  But no, I think Tsitsipas is taking small steps in the right direction for the next ten years.

On the German contenders
Dominik Koepfer obviously he had an incredible US Open, what do you think of him as a player and can he repeat what he shows in New York?
It helps when it comes to knowing how to deal with pressure in a way at the same time as you have the tennis nation on your shoulders but he is pretty far away from doing something extraordinary I think even though he had a great Grand Slam and doing well in five set matches. 

Doing well in a Grand Slam because it is five sets is a huge confidence boost but apart from that, it’s not a player that I think the rest of the field is that worried about yet and I think that comes with being more consistent and winning more matches on different surfaces and having a bit of an intimidation factor.  I don't think it’s very high when you are not more in the headlines than he has been even though he did well at the Open.

Angie Kerber, a terrible year last year, how can you explain it?
Most probably mentally she was not quite motivated to figure out and solve problems so I don't know if there is a way back for Angelique Kerber. The game is most probably passing her by a little bit but you can never put someone like her out until she decides to quit, you never know when she finds the motivation again.  Clearly right now it is not really happening for her but as long as she is playing you have to have some patience and give her the benefit of the doubt.

She has got a new coach, Dieter Kindlmann.  What would she see as the positive in changing her coach and she seems to be changing quite a bit, so why would she do this?
Because she is still interested in winning tournaments and improving as a tennis player and hoping that either a slight change in technique or a slight staff change with her coach, hoping that that will give her that extra spark that she most probably is missing or lacking. I don't know, it can come from anywhere, it can come from a change in your family situation off the court and it can come from a change in your team so by changing coaches she is still searching and hoping that she’ll still find it so I think that’s a positive mood.

On the Romanian contenders
Do you think Simona can make a final in Melbourne?  I don’t think she’s ever won on the hard courts before so has she got the game equipped for the hard courts?
Yes, I think she does, I do. The fast courts are actually not a bad thing for someone like Halep because it means she is going to get rewarded for some of the shots that she just hits that doesn’t do much on other courts, I think here will become a weapon and I do believe that the faster courts will make her serve a little bit of a weapon as well. 

Having won at Wimbledon, I think that puts her mind at ease in terms of winning on the faster court or a lower bouncing court so yes, I think she comes in and has proven Romania and the rest of the world that a) I can win Slams on different surfaces and different situations and I can beat Serena at Wimbledon so why not, why can’t I win the Australian Open?  So yes, I think we’ll see her win another major before she’s done and it could be in either of the four, I don't know which she has the biggest chance in.

A good move to get Darren Cahill back in the team?
I think Darren Cahill will always be in the back of her head.  I’m not sure whether being back on the team or not makes a huge difference but yes, this is a coach that has basically taught a player how to win slams and how to behave on court and what to do in practice and so on so yes, Darren Cahill is massively, is as important to a  player that I’ve seen a coach be, ever. 

Marius Copil, I think he is the only Romanian in the men’s draw, how do you see his game at the moment and how far do you think he could go, obviously if he gets the right draw?
Yes, exactly.  Copil is one of those players who can upset pretty much anyone in the draw because he has one of the biggest serves in the game.  He has had enough good results and there are no unreachable opponents for him that he can’t beat, especially on a faster hard court with temperatures high and the ball is travelling fast.  The style of play of Marius Copil is pretty much perfect for a faster hard court.

On the Russian hopefuls
What about the young Russian players?  Daniil Medvedev it is fair to say had a pretty good tournament in New York and there is someone with the potential of Andre Rublev, any comments about them and their development?
Yes, I think they are developing – Khachanov as well – I think they are developing nicely and improving.  They seem very mature, they have this fight in them that I guess is slightly unusual in a way but among the three of them I think you will have at some point a Grand Slam champion, I think they have the right mindset for it.  I think talent-wise Rublev and Khachanov, are they good enough to win a major?  I am not 100% sure about that but in terms of their mindset and work ethic, yes, I think the three of them are … I mean I’d be surprised if one of them doesn’t win a slam before they’re done.

On Polish contenders
Hubert Hurkacz is a great player with impressive wins against top 30 players including Dominic Thiem, what do you expect from him at the Australian Open and the rest of the season?
I would be very surprised if he is not in the top 20 at the end of the year, yes, I think he will be even higher than top 20.  For me Hurkacz is a future top 10, 100%, and he is better than that.  I think he is one of the more talented, he’s smart, he’s got a big game, a big serve and he doesn’t really have a weakness.  I don’t know what his best surface is yet but I believe that he is going to be in the top ten.  I don't know, is he ready for the Australian Open?  It is a good surface for him.

For him this is perfect and for me Hurkacz is really getting there and I would not be surprised if he makes the quarter finals or even further to be honest. 

How important is it for such a young player to avoid very strong competition in the first round?
I think it’s important for him because, well first of all a young player like Hurkacz would be a nightmare opponent for Rafa or Novak, they do not want to play Hurkacaz in the second round so for that reason the other players are lucky if Hurkacz is seeded. For him I think yes, he could have a good draw and win two matches and I think that is really important for his confidence, for anybody’s confidence.  If you win two matches in a Grand Slam suddenly you think okay, I’ve won two matches, I can beat anybody but when you are not seeded, yes, you can have a tough draw in the first round but most probably, he is one of the most promising young players that we are waiting for to break through into the top of the game and Hurkacaz is one of them.

He is a polite guy, shy, maybe too calm.  At the highest level does he need to be more of a bad boy with more charisma?
I don't think so, no.  I’ve seen enough from him and I think he has a temper which is important, you have to have a temper, you have to get a little bit angry, you have to get a little bit frustrated, you have to understand when things are not going your way so I think you have to be quite emotional and understand when you are unlucky, you are not playing well, things are going against you even though you are playing the right way.  He seems like he has the right mindset.  You don’t have to be a bad boy, Nadal is not a bad boy, but you have to be quite emotional when you are playing to not only see the situation but to feel the situation that you are in in terms of tactics. 

Iga Swiatak is an 18 year old from Poland who didn’t play at the end of the last season, how difficult is it for such a young player to start such a big tournament without more preparations?
Well both I think, it’s both because everybody that plays in the Australian Open has this dream and the dream is to do very well and even win a Grand Slam, everybody has that dream so to not play a tournament before means of course she needs the practice that she doesn’t get but at the same time she also comes with good confidence because she hasn’t played a tournament before, she didn’t lose last week 6-2, 6-2 to Serena Williams in Auckland.  So okay now she plays Serena for the first time or Andreescu or whoever it is, it is not good for her tennis that she is unprepared of course but in terms of doing well at the Australian Open, I don't think that makes a difference. 

I think sometimes it can work in your favour to play with no pressure as long as she has been able to practice hard, I think the preparation will be good enough. Of course, the confidence grows if you win matches but I think you have to watch out for players that are fresh and haven’t played matches because they have no expectations and when you have no expectations of your play, you can play unbelievably well.

On the Swedish contenders
Rebecca Peterson, how do you assess where her game is at the moment, where she could go to?
Well I think she most probably could always improve her movement on court. I think that to me she has got a good attitude, she has a pretty big game. She is savvy, she plays smart tennis and I think where she needs to put most emphasis on is her, not fitness because she is obviously as fit as anybody but to make sure that you are always improving your foot speed around the court.  But she is very mature and I think she goes into matches with a really good mindset believing she can beat pretty much anyone.

I think she’s working with Thomas Hogstedt, do you know much about him?
He will bring experience of being part of wining Grand Slam tournaments.  With Sharapova, he was with her winning the French, I believe he worked with Li Na once when she won so I think he will be a voice in your ear that will believe that you have the skill that you need to win big tournaments and when you have an experienced coach like Thomas then that’s what he brings to the table. I don't know if he necessarily knows more about technique or anything but he does have experience of winning Grand Slams as a coach.

Do you see in Rebecca Peterson a potential Grand Slam winner or is that just a long way off at the moment?
It’s a long way away at the moment because we still have to see her react to a situation that is a quarter finals or a semi-finals of a Grand Slam when the world is watching, we don’t really know how she reacts to a situation like that but I think that she is showing improvement every year in the game and also in the rankings and she is heading in the right direction. So where does it stop?  It can stop by her winning a Grand Slam, yes. 

It has been pretty quiet around Leo Borg since Wimbledon last summer, do you follow his development at all and how good do you think he’ll come?
I think we will do him a favour if we stop talking about him, to be honest.  I think he has obstacles that he has to overcome that are not really fair to a young player. Obviously some of it is great and it’s a bonus being a son of a great champion like Bjorn but at the same time there are obviously some obstacles that you have to overcome that are not that easy. 

He doesn’t have to make money to be able to survive on the professional tour because dad comes with the territory when you are Bjorn Borg’s son.  He is going to get invitations and pass because of who his father is but yeah, it seems that they have figured that out so I am expecting him to keep improving and showing his face here and there but not really talking about him being a top ranked player in the world yet.

What shape is Swedish tennis in at the moment, Mats?
It’s the same shape it’s been in for the last … well it’s slightly different because we do have Mikael Ymer who I believe has direct acceptance into the tournament so finally we have somebody who is going to make all the Grand Slams.  With that comes a bit of hope that he gets a good draw, maybe gets a good win along the way and then suddenly he is there in the quarter-finals and then who knows who he will inspire by that so yes, we are entering a bit of a new era where we again have somebody who is competing in the biggest stages in tennis which is the Grand Slams.

On the women’s tournament
Do you think it will be as open this year, the women’s side of the draw, in 2020 as last year?
I have no idea.  It seems to me that women, being two out of three sets, it’s very unpredictable, very similar to what the men’s tour is apart from the slams so it is unpredictable, it’s hard to know.  It’s a faster court and looking at the major winners we had last year, obviously if you say you know who the favourite is then you’re crazy because who knows where Andreescu and Osaka and Halep and Serena, I have no idea where they really are.  The constant is that Serena Williams will be a threat.

Do you think Serena is still the top favourite? She is the favourite on the betting markets because she won it 23 times, do you think this is the tournament where she will tie Margaret Court?
I believe that she has a very good chance and to be 100% honest, I think yes, this is where she has the best chance to tie Margaret Court for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, the courts are playing very fast, at the Australian Open the courts are very fast and the temperature is usually very hot so the tennis balls are fast through the air and the court is playing very fast, perfect for Serena Williams, that’s the main reason. 

The second reason I think is that she has obviously not great confidence after losing in the US Open final and the Wimbledon final but when you go to Australia, it always seems that you are leaving the season behind, to me anyway.  When I went the season before seemed like it was four or five years ago so you go to Australia with a fresh mind, fresh confidence and it’s, yes, I think it is the perfect scenario for her to win.  I believe that the French Open will not happen, I think that Wimbledon is tough because everyone is watching, every single person in the world is literally watching Serena Williams trying to win her 24th Grand Slam and if it’s the Australian Open every single person is not watching and as a player you know that, you are not in the limelight or the spotlight of every sport when you’re playing.  So yes, I think Serena is the favourite to win but this is one she can still win.

Who do you see the favourite?
To be honest, I don’t really know where someone like Bianca Andreescu is. I know that the women’s game in the last few years is very open.  Obviously we had four different winners last year.  Is Simona Halep back in business, is Andreescu, where does Sloane Stevens?  I mean there are so many players where we don’t know exactly where they are and then suddenly they win the Grand Slam and it is like, wow, I had no idea. 

It’s very open and the only consistent player I see is Serena Williams because she has a reason to win and I think the other players are young, they have won one and yes, there are most probably 20 players than can win the Australian Open but I think the biggest favourite beforehand who is going to do well to me is still Serena Williams.  I don't think she is going to win but she will get very far.

Is there anyone out there come the end of the year could be the most improved female player on the tour?  Can you give us any insights on who we should be looking out for in about 12 months’ time?
I think the most interesting player for me on the men’s and women’s tour is Bianca Andreescu, she has potential, she has already won a Slam but she has potential that is beyond any other player – male or female – in her fight, in her movement, in her shot making skills. I think she has ticked all the boxes and the only one is can she stay healthy obviously, that’s the only question mark we have for her but in terms of the other things I think she has got it all and it is just a matter of how far is she going to go?

On Caroline Wozniacki
How do you assess the career of Caroline Wozniacki?
I think Caroline is one of the most important women tennis players of all time.  She is much more important to the sport than her wins.  I am a little bit surprised that she didn’t win more than one Grand Slam, I am not surprised that she was very consistent.  I think we will always look at our careers and say okay, I should have done this, I could have done this.  Obviously with Caroline we are looking at maybe she could have developed other aspects of her game a bit better, she could have learnt how to volley better, she could have learnt how to hit the ball a little bit harder maybe but at the same time you look at her and you would have to say she most probably got as much out of her game as any player.  I would say on the men’s side somebody like David Ferrer would be the one that has gotten the most out of his game ever and I think for me Caroline is one of the ladies that got a lot out of a very, very special game but nothing that was so overwhelmingly impressive that you went ‘Oh my God, she is so good’.  Yes, she’s good but I think the mind and training and the attitude is what made Caroline as good as she was and the mind and attitude and training is what is important to people that are following her so as an inspiration I think Caroline is very, very, important for the development of tennis - she didn’t have anything completely special in terms of the physical part except moving but she had put together a great game with what she had and I know this because I am very similar in my game. 

People ask me, how come you won so many Grand Slams, you have nothing?  Well if you have a good attitude and you train hard, you have a good chance of winning and Caroline for me showed that a normal person can do very well in professional sports because to me she is as normal a person as you will ever meet, which is a compliment, a big compliment.

Will Caroline be missed?
Huge, huge for me.  For me Caroline is one of those players that again, same thing, I love when she’s playing because I know she is going to do her best and try absolutely everything that she can try in terms of tactics within her limits and it’s always easy to work and commentate and analyse somebody who you know is going to do 100%.  She always gave 100% mentally and physically and as a commentator, as a fan, that’s what you like.  Yes, of course, somebody like Petra Kvitova was or is very dangerous and can still win a Slam, blah-blah-blah, but I prefer the athlete that plays and behaves like Caroline Wozniacki to be honest. 

She is only 29 years old, is it too early for her to quit the sport?
Well yes, in terms of numbers it is too early.  In today’s game of tennis it is too early but usually when you quit at 29 or when you quit a little bit earlier than people think, it means first of all are you able to practice as hard as you always have because if you’re not, then you are going to make yourself disappointed.  Is she 100% physically capable with all her problems within injuries and is she capable of practicing as hard as he wants and is she able to care emotionally as much as she wants to care if she’s not able to practice 100%? 

So I think there are a lot of outside reasons why she is pulling back.  I don't know, maybe it has something to do with being married, with starting a family, I have no idea but I think that being very young when she was number one in the world a long time, she has had a very long career in terms of years because she broke through so young at the top.

And do you have any advice, she is 29 years old and she stops, how is she coming from this point to another point in her life?
I don't know if I have advice but I think my advice is that just because you are not winning Grand Slams or maybe enjoying competing in tennis as much anymore doesn’t mean you don’t enjoy the game.  It often takes players maybe too long to understand how much they appreciate the game of tennis and it is very difficult as a professional Grand Slam champion that it is not about winning or the money or the ranking, it is more about the game which is tennis, which is one on one, I make my decisions myself, I’m the one winning, I’m the one losing and tennis teaches you a lesson in life and it’s not easy to see the last few years of your career how much you loved the game of tennis, you think it’s winning or money or ranking or whatever. 

So I think my advice is don’t go too far away from the game that has given you everything because as a player you can never pay back to the game of tennis what the game of tennis gave to you, never.  I don’t care if your name is Roger Federer, tennis is more important to Federer is to tennis. 

Was it difficult for you when you stopped playing?
No, the feeling of the last few years of playing is a difficult feeling to understand, yes, because something that was so natural in terms of working to win tennis matches is not natural anymore and that’s a difficult emotion to understand. You feel nearly betrayed, that the game has betrayed me because I don’t care as much anymore, I’m not winning as much.  Whatever if its, yes, it’s not an easy last few years.  The decision is not that difficult and sometimes we wish we’d made the decision to stop a little bit earlier, I have to say.

How do you think it will go for Caroline in Melbourne this year, her last tournament?
Well I think she enjoys Melbourne to begin with, she has obviously had her best results in Melbourne because she won there.  I think the fast courts for Caroline is actually a better think today than it used to be, she likes slow hard courts but I think the older you get the more you appreciate when the ball is going a little bit faster through the air because of the temperature and also when the surface is a little bit faster because she has a big serve.  She has learnt how to serve much better in the last few years and her serve is a big weapon for her, especially when the courts are fast.  Her backhand is a big weapon for her when the courts are a little bit faster so I think Australia is the perfect place for her to still have a chance to win a major, yes.

Do you think she can win the tournament?
Well I always thought she could win a Grand Slam, I always was one of her biggest believers in winning and I think if she believes, yes she can.  The problem for somebody like Caroline is probably the first three rounds where she doesn’t quite have the same respect in other players’ eyes like Serena or players that have won more than one Grand Slam, they have more respect from other players and I’m not sure Caroline … I don't think players are afraid of Caroline on the court so in that way it’s not easy but I think for her Australia is probably where she feels the most relaxed and she’s won there.  The press conference is so different when you have won in the place where you are playing, so ask me, I know how to win here, everything is so much easier when you have won there.

On Coco Gauff
And what’s your opinion on Coco Gauff at the moment?  Any advice you’d give to her?
I don’t have any advice to give her.  I have maybe advice to people around her that she seems to be unafraid of the big moments, she seems to be working as hard as anyone. She has a good enough game physically to win Slams and be the best player she can be and the only advice I have is stay clear away from her because you can’t try and shape her in any way or form, she is going to do what she wants to do and if you are trying to get into her way that can only cause problems. I guess I’m looking at Sasha Zverev and Ivan Lendl because even though he is a great coach, it didn’t work and it seems to have put him on his back feet so to speak.  So I think stay away and let her develop in her own time and she will become as good as she can. 

On the ATP Cup
What do I think about the ATP Cup? 
I think the ATP Cup is brilliant because the players really seem to be enjoying it and I think when players enjoy, the spectators enjoy and it makes the sport of tennis grow into a sport that everybody wants to play.  Not too serious but they are playing for each other and it’s a team sport so I think that any team sport in tennis when it’s successful is better than the individual tournaments. 

What do you think about level of the players in the tournament?  We have Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal as well as Kyrgios, Shapavalov… Zverev not so well but what do you think about what they are doing?
Obviously we are talking about the Australian Open so to compare a two out of three set match in a team when you have a captain on the court and you have three or four in the team and they are cheering for you, it has nothing to do with how you are playing in individual three out of five. It’s so different – it’s great, it’s really great for the players and it’s great for the spectators but it’s hard to know where players stand, that’s the only problem that I see.

For us watching I have no idea if Rafa is playing well or not because when it’s Spain he is going to give 100% even if he’s not playing well.  Novak, same thing – if he’s playing a normal tournament and he’s not playing well, you will see the reaction in his face.  He is playing for himself and he’s not playing well, you will see he’s not playing well, he’ll tell you with his demonstrations, with his facial expressions but in a team competition it’s very difficult to know if Rafa is playing well. He’s winning, okay so he must be playing well but he’s playing for Spain so he is going to be looking like he’s playing well even if he plays bad.  So it’s very difficult to know where they are.  Obviously both of them are, they look really good, I think it has to do with the poor ending of the season in the ATP finals, I feel like Novak and Rafa are ready for the Australian Open because of what happened at the O2 Arena.

Do you think the Davis Cup and the ATP Cup should be unified?
Well no, I think that the International Tennis Federation and the Grand Slams and the ATP and the WTA should be unified but should you join the ATP and the Davis Cup?  No.  The ATP Cup is a tournament that should be played the way it’s being played, Davis Cup is a tournament that should be played home and away and Davis Cup is a tournament that grows the sport of tennis amongst people that don’t play tennis but root for their country.  ATP Cup is for tennis fans, it is a preparation for the Australian Open so no, I don't think they should join.  I think the Davis Cup needs to rethink what the tournament is about and why Davis Cup is important for tennis in the world.

Do you enjoy both competitions then?
I used to enjoy Davis Cup very much when it was played home and away and I know that one day we will enjoy Davis Cup again but no, at the moment I think Davis Cup is looking and searching for a better formats.  I think the ATP Cup has become a bigger success than they were hoping, I don't think anyone really knew what was going to happen but in Australia they love team competitions and it’s a great move to have the ATP Cup in Australia, better than having individual tournaments I think.

On the upcoming season
What are you most looking forward to with the new season coming up? 
Well I am looking forward to seeing how long the older guard can hang on, not just Federer but even Novak and Rafa, they are showing us that something new is happening because they are hanging on to the top spots in the world even though they are heading into their mid-30s so to speak so that’s a new situation.  At the same time we have young players who have been affected by the behaviour of the Big Four and we’re seeing them perform so I think role models suddenly have become really important because I do believe we are seeing in Tsitsipas for example, someone who has been affected by Roger and by Rafa. 

On the future of the sport
Tennis was obviously huge when you were on the tour, personalities like yourself, John, Boris, do you a certain lack of entertainment and maybe personalities in tennis these days or is that changing?
No, I think it’s coming back with the likes of Tsitsipas and Kyrgios and Shapovalov, I think it’s coming back, I really do. They have grown up watching Roger and Rafa and Novak and Andy behave and deal with adversity on the biggest courts in the world, I think they have learned a lot from them unknowingly and I think they are applying some of that mental attitude on court.  So no, I think we are having great personalities on court again.

How can tennis continue to attract the younger generation?
I don't know, I think it’s a big game, people are playing tennis, some of the best players in the world become huge stars, they transcend the sport, they are huge athlete stars whether they play tennis or not so I think Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are massive athletic stars and that inspires younger athletes watching on TV, the recognition of what they’re doing so I don’t think that it lies in technology to make it more interesting for kids, I think it’s more about the personalities and what tennis does to their standings in the professional world of sports and so far tennis players are very high up.