Find out why Roger Federer missed the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

The 36-year-old Swiss, who holds the men's all-time record of grand slam titles with 20, won two Laureus awards - Comeback of the Year and Sportsman of the Year - on Tuesday

MONACO - FEBRUARY 27: Bebe Vio and Laureus Academy member Alessandro Del Piero speak on stage during the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards show at Salle des Etoiles, Sporting Monte-Carlo on February 27, 2018 in Monaco, Monaco. (Photo by Alexander Koerner/Getty Images for Laureus)

MONACO - FEBRUARY 27: Footballer Ryan Giggs (R) and guest attend the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards at Salle des Etoiles, Sporting Monte-Carlo on February 27, 2018 in Monaco, Monaco. (Photo by Christian Alminana/Getty Images for Laureus)

MONACO - FEBRUARY 27: Toto Wolff of holds the award for Mercedes Benz/Patronas F1 team winners of the Laureus Team of the Year at Salle des Etoiles, Sporting Monte-Carlo on February 27, 2018 in Monaco, Monaco. (Photo by Christian Alminana/Getty Images for Laureus)

epa06569224 US former track and field athlete Edwin Moses poses with the 'Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award' at the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards in Monaco, 27 February 2018. The annual Laureus Awards are held to honor people whom make a notable impact and remarkable accomplishments in the world of sport throughout the year. EPA/SEBASTIEN NOGIER

MONACO - FEBRUARY 27: The Laureus Award winners with Prince Albert II of Monaco and his wife Charlene,Princess of Monaco pose on stage during the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards show at Salle des Etoiles, Sporting Monte-Carlo on February 27, 2018 in Monaco, Monaco. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for Laureus)

MONACO - FEBRUARY 27: Marcel Hug receives the Disability Award during the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards show at Salle des Etoiles, Sporting Monte-Carlo on February 27, 2018 in Monaco, Monaco. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for Laureus)

MONACO - FEBRUARY 27: Tennis player Roger Federer holds his awards for Laureus World Comeback of the Year 2018 and Laureus World Sportsman of the Year 2018 during the Laureus World Sports Awards 2018 at Salle des Etoiles, Sporting Monte-Carlo on February 27, 2018 in Monaco, Monaco. (Photo by Boris Streubel/Getty Images for Laureus)

MONACO - FEBRUARY 27: Host Benedict Cumberbatch with dancers on stage during the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards show at Salle des Etoiles, Sporting Monte-Carlo on February 27, 2018 in Monaco, Monaco. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for Laureus)

epa06569354 Brazilian soccer player Jakson Ragnar Follmann, representing Brazilian football team Chapecoense, poses with the 'Laureus Best Sporting Moment of the Year Award' at the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards in Monaco, 27 February 2018. The annual Laureus Awards are held to honor people whom make a notable impact and remarkable accomplishments in the world of sport throughout the year. EPA/SEBASTIEN NOGIER

epa06569226 US football player Justin James 'J. J.' Watt poses with the 'Laureus Sporting Inspiration Award' at the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards in Monaco, 27 February 2018. The annual Laureus Awards are held to honor people whom make a notable impact and remarkable accomplishments in the world of sport throughout the year. EPA/SEBASTIEN NOGIER

MONACO - FEBRUARY 27: Francesco Totti holds his award for Exceptional Achievement at Salle des Etoiles, Sporting Monte-Carlo on February 27, 2018 in Monaco, Monaco. (Photo by Christian Alminana/Getty Images for Laureus)

MONACO - FEBRUARY 27: On the video screen Sergio Garcia holds his Laureus World Breakthrough of The Year 2018 Award during the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards show at Salle des Etoiles, Sporting Monte-Carlo on February 27, 2018 in Monaco, Monaco. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for Laureus)

epa06569059 Former German tennis player Boris Becker (R) and his wife Lilly Becker (L) arrive at the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards in Monaco, 27 February 2018. The annual Laureus Awards are held to honor people whom make a notable impact and remarkable accomplishments in the world of sport throughout the year. EPA/SEBASTIEN NOGIER

Tennis legend Roger Federer believes it will be hard for the younger generation to emulate him and fellow veterans Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in winning multiple grand slams.

The 36-year-old Swiss, who holds the men's all-time record of grand slam titles with 20, was speaking to a small group of journalists prior to winning two Laureus awards - Comeback of the Year and Sportsman of the Year - on Tuesday.

Laureus is a global movement that uses the power of sport to tackle the most devastating social challenges in the world.

Federer, who missed the ATP Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships this week to attend the awards, said the younger generation such as Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and Dominic Thiem of Austria have the ability to win a grand slam but 10 might be beyond them.

"It is definitely hard to see one player right now getting 10 slams," Federer said.

"It is much easier to say that probably a lot of guys are going to win a slam or two but winning 10 slams is not something you can predict, people didn't predict that with me to be honest.

"Maybe with Rafa [Nadal] with the French Open you say yes he is going to grab a few there. Maybe he is going to win five [he has 10] as he was an amazing junior as well like Bjorn Borg, they were the best teenagers we ever had in the game."

_______________

Read more:

• Comment: For formidable Roger Federer eventual return to No 1 merely icing on cake
• Watch: Andre Agassi pays tribute to Roger Federer on becoming world's oldest No 1

_______________

Federer, who came to Monaco on the back of winning the Rotterdam title where he beat Dimitrov in the final, admitted fortunes can change with the slightest of tweaks.

"Once you get rolling like Novak [Djokovic] and I did all of a sudden you don't look back, then a few years later you do look back and you have eight or 10 grand slam titles, it's crazy," said Federer, the oldest world No 1 in ATP history.

"Confidence and momentum are a big thing.

"When you unlock your game through success or a coach explains the one ingredient that is missing then that can change things."

Federer, however, believes the sport will not suffer once the likes of him, 16-time major winner Nadal, 12-time grand slam Djokovic, and Andy Murray finally hang up their rackets.

"The game of tennis always has a way of producing champions and the future has never worried me," he said.

"Someone will follow in our footsteps and be a champion.

"We are a shadow over the game, the top guys, and clearly we don't allow them [the younger ones] to completely flourish but once we are gone I think it will still be very, very exciting."

Federer, who says his lighter tournament schedule these days keeps him hungry and motivated, has had his fair share of injury problems in recent years, and he urged two-time Wimbledon champion Murray not to rush back to competition following hip surgery in January.

______________

Read more:

• Tunisian Malek Jaziri ecstatic to send Grigor Dimitrov crashing out of Dubai
• Order of play: Day 3 of ATP Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
• 'Tired' Lucas Pouille relies on home advantage to win Dubai opener

______________

"What I learned is just be patient when you are hurt, only come back when you are 100 per cent not 92 per cent," said Federer, who will make up his mind about whether he plays the French Open after the Indian Wells tournament in March.

"I've come to realise it is better to wait. If you are hurt or struggling in a tournament no one knows so that is OK, but if people know you have had a problem it is better to wait it out and train really hard to get back at 100 per cent."

Federer believes whilst part of his enormous popularity is down to the success he has enjoyed, it is also perversely to do with how he handled tougher times.

"Maybe going through tougher moments since 2010 and 2011 came around when I didn't win so much," he said.

"People saw me struggling a little bit more and they thought of me as being more human and since then my popularity has really gone up even more so since the comeback," a reference to undergoing knee surgery in 2016 and returning to win a record eighth Wimbledon crown in 2017.