WIMBLEDON, England—Roger Federer says that he is not concerned about the popularity of the men's tour if the Big Four no longer remains dominant.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion acknowledged that the quarter has had a big impact on the sport, but said other players will emerge and become prominent. "I know it's going to be a bit of a change. Everything has to be somewhat rebuilt to some extent," Federer said. "Players are going to win slams, players are going to be No. 1."
With three of the Big Four still within the Top 3 in the rankings and all four still in the Top 10, Federer suggested they could be a force in the game for a while yet. While Federer is a few years older at 33, Rafael Nadal is now 29, while Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are 28.
"It's going to be a bit different. It depends when is Rafa going to go out, when I go out, Novak, Andy, what are they going to do in their respective careers. That still might be five, six, eight years. Who knows what it's going to be like," Federer said.
"Still a lot of opportunities for other players to win stuff in the meantime, let's be honest," the world No. 2 said. "Then after that the young generation that we all talk about now is going to be in their prime. Then it's going to be new players coming up again."
Murray, Djokovic and Federer are all in the third round of Wimbledon, while Nadal was upset by Dustin Brown in four sets.