The so-called dominance of the Big Four in men’s tennis is not much in evidence at Wimbledon 2017 after Novak Djokovic became the third member of this most exclusive of clubs to depart the stage at SW19. The Serb retired when 6-7 0-2 down to Tomas Berdych and explained that he has an issue with his elbow that has been bothering him for the last 18 months and has recently become worse.

He said, “It's unfortunate that I had to finish Wimbledon, a Grand Slam, in this way. If someone feels bad about it, it's me. But I tried yesterday to get it into the condition where I'm able to play. I was able for 30 minutes to play with some pain that was bearable. But all the treatments and medication couldn't really help. The serve and forehand were the shots where I could feel it the most. After that, there was really no sense in carrying on.”

Djokovic continued, “The intensity and level of pain was not decreasing. It was only increasing as the days went by. I started feeling it already more or less at the beginning of the tournament. I kept doing everything I possibly could with my physio and the ATP physio to try to recover it and get it into the state where I'm actually able to perform. I was able to perform up to this stage. But it was only getting worse, and unfortunately, today was the worst day. Probably the fact that I played yesterday, kind of days adding up, didn't help at all. But at the end of the day, this is something I have to deal with and accept.”

The Serb also talked about the fact that both he and Andy Murray have struggled with injuries this year. He said, “We both had a very long, very tough year (in 2016), a lot of matches, a lot of emotions, and a lot of things in play. Our bodies have taken a lot physically. So as an athlete, one way or another, at a certain stage of your career, you're going to experience these kinds of things. Injuries are part of this sport, unfortunately. Professional tennis has got very physical in the last couple of years. It's not easy to play at the highest level throughout the entire season, and then be able to do that over and over again every season while staying healthy.”

He continued, “Obviously we do everything in our power. That's why we have a huge number of people around us in our teams, to make sure that we cover every field and expertise we possibly can so we can perform the best we can. But we're all humans. We’ve got to go through these stages.”

Roger Federer, who skipped the French Open to focus on Wimbledon, had no such problems with fitness as he stormed to victory against the man who beat him at SW19 last year: Milos Raonic. The Swiss barely faced any difficulties at all during a sublime 6-4 6-2 7-6(4) win, as he won 90% of points on his first serve, hit 46 winners and only made 9 unforced errors. He is yet to drop a set at this year’s tournament, which means he is still on course to match the feat achieved by Rafael Nadal at the French Open.

Federer said, “I'm much better prepared for Wimbledon this year than last year. Last year I had a hard time practicing throughout the clay court season. And the grass court season was difficult because of the back issues and the knee issues I had. I was really lacking practice.”

“Then in the matches, I could never really play quite so freely last year because I was more focused on how the knee's behaving rather than how I need to hit my forehand or backhand, or what's not going to be good for my opponent. This year I'm just a normal tennis player again where I can focus on tactics. I think that's the difference. I'm playing very well. I'm rested, fresh and confident too. Then great things do happen. Confidence is a huge thing.”

Federer was asked to comment on Djokovic and Murray’s injuries. He said, “You wish them well right away as a rival and a friend. You want them to be healthy again. It happens. Novak's hardly missed any slams. I don't want to say sooner or later these things unfortunately happen, but he's played a lot of tennis in recent years. For him to be hurt at some stage is normal. That's why we want him to recover quickly.”

“I hope by playing on Andy didn't make things worse. It's big for him to step out on court and give it a go, even though he knew, like I did last year, that the chances are slim that he was going to defend this title. I have a lot of respect for him doing that. I just hope that he comes out on the other side now not having to miss much later on. I just hope he can recover quickly and get ready for America.”

It is natural for observers at this stage to view Federer’s decision to take time out from tennis to rest as the right thing to do. He said, “Once you hit 30, you've got to look back and think how much tennis have I played, how much rest did I give my body over the years, how much training have I done, did I do enough, did I overdo it or not enough.”

“For me, it worked out. Doesn't mean it's going to work out for everybody. But sometimes the body and the mind need a rest. You just want to take that decision early enough or see it coming and anticipate. The problem is you can only play with a certain injury for a certain amount of time because what you don't want happening is that it becomes chronic. Then even a surgery can't help you much anymore. That's why I'm happy I've only had to have my first surgery really at 34, 35 years old. That was a blessing.”

The 18-time Grand Slam champion also talked about his status as the most likely player to win Wimbledon 2017. He said, “Being the favorite or not doesn't matter. These other guys left in are all big hitters. I feel like they will have their say on the outcome of the matches. They've all got big serves and big forehands, and they are all taller and stronger than I am. I’ve got to figure out a different way (to beat them) and carve my way through the draw somehow with my slice and my spins, or my consistency maybe.”

Finally, Federer was asked if he felt supercharged after getting his preparation right. He said, “Well, that was the idea, that in the second week of Wimbledon is when I would feel my best. I feel like it's coming along nicely, to be quite honest.” Considering his stunning performances so far, that seems like a considerable understatement from arguably the greatest tennis player of all time.