DF6A91F5-CEC7-41F0-A9C3-783048255962

By Richard Pagliaro
© Travis VanDenBerg

(July 23, 2010) Rafael Nadal has surpassed Roger Federer in the rankings and John McEnroe believes the World No. 1 is on pace to win six or seven more Grand Slam titles, which would push him ahead of Pete Sampras on the all-time list.

McEnroe believes the torch has been passed from Federer to Nadal, but believes the 16-time Grand Slam champion will win a couple more majors.

"It's reasonable to assume that if (Nadal is) healthy, it has been.  But at the same time that's a little unpredictable," McEnroe said on Thursday night prior to his New York Sportimes' win over the Newport Beach Breakers. "Roger is not going to dominate the way he did.  He knows it.  Pretty much everybody knows it.  He loves to play still.  That's a big advantage.  I think he'll win a couple more majors.  I think the upside for Nadal is greater.  He could win six, seven more.  I think Federer could win one, two more.  That's my opinion.  Maybe he'll prove me wrong.  He's already got 16, so it's not like he hasn't broken every record already.  Maybe give someone else a chance."



Surveying the state of American tennis, McEnroe, who has launched the John McEnroe Tennis Academy on Randall's Island in New York City, believes John Isner is headed for the top 10.

"Isner, I believe he's going to get to the top 10 in the world," McEnroe said. "He's a guy that went to three or four years of college. (Sam) Querrey, our two best hopes, are maturing later, which I think is a good thing, and will maybe help us.  We'd like to produce more players like that and hopefully we'll get better athletes, more people paying attention, we'll get a breakthrough, guys winning slams."

The four-time US Open champion suggests it will be a challenge for Andy Roddick to win another major.

"Maybe if (Andy) Roddick is lucky, it's going to be difficult now, but if he's lucky, he had a really tough loss to lose so early (at Wimbledon)," McEnroe said. "I think he really thought about that the whole year after that great (2009 Wimbledon) match with (Roger) Federer.  That would have been a bit of a boost."