Wawrinka tips Federer to 'come back strong'
Stan Wawrinka has tipped fellow Swiss Roger Federer to mount a strong return from injury and contribute to an exciting 2017.
Federer took part in just seven ATP Tour events this year, cutting his season short due to a knee injury ahead of the Olympic Games.
The 17-time grand slam winner, 35, slipped to 16th in the world rankings as a result, but Wawrinka is sure he will remain a force upon his return.
The US Open champion also believes the desire of Novak Djokovic to regain the number one spot from Andy Murray, as well as the opportunity for Rafael Nadal to put an injury-blighted year behind him, could make for an intriguing season in men's tennis.
"For sure the last few years have been different, the fact that Roger was injured this year, Rafa went down in the ranking so the domination of those four players was a little bit different," Wawrinka said. "Who was winning last year was most of the time Novak and Andy, so it's still the same players who are at the top of the ranking.
"Again I think this year is going to be really interesting to see because of Andy finishing number one, Novak I'm sure will be tough to beat, Roger is going to come back strong and Rafa, let's see, so I'm excited to start the new season.
"I'm excited for myself to try to see what I can achieve this year and to see what the tennis of the other players will look like."
Wawrinka won his third major at this year's US Open, but he is unsure if he will be able to add to his tally in 2017.
"It's tough to win a grand slam, and I know how strong and tough it's going to be this year again," he said. "You can already see all the players coming so it's going to be interesting for sure. I would love to push myself as much as I can, I would love to win tournaments this year but let's see what's going to happen."
