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Roger Federer believes Serena Williams is probably the greatest tennis player of all time

Federer has his say in the never-ending debate regarding who is the GOAT in tennis.

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Tennis fans have long argued about who is the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT). Not just among men or women but overall, too. And two names that always find a mention are Roger Federer and Serena Williams.

As it turns out, Federer has also had his say in this never-ending discussion. According to the 20-time Grand Slam champion, it's Serena who's probably the greatest.

"She (Serena) had a totally different upbringing - I came up through Switzerland with the federation, she did it with her dad and her sister. It's an amazing story unto itself - and then she became one of the greatest, if not the greatest tennis player of all time," Federer told Wall Street Journal in an interview.

The Swiss great went on to explain that he making an overall assesment, not just about female players. "Overall," he said when asked to clarify.

"We know (Serena) is all the way up there. I'm probably up there with somebody, somehow. Maybe there's a group, a best of five - and if you're in that group, you should be pleased and happy. Tennis is a funky sport when it comes to that stuff. I'm in full admiration of Serena. And Venus, too, by the way. It's incredible they're all still at it. Rafa's still playing, I'm still playing, Serena and Venus are still playing-and it seems like they love it more than ever," added Federer.

Serena is the holder of 23 Grand Slams, just one behind Australia's Margaret Court. Although Court won 13 of her 24 Majors before the Open Era.

Meanwhile, Serena and Venus Williams were handed a wild card into the French Open women's doubles as the American sisters seek to add a third Roland Garros title to their triumphs in 1999 and 2010.

They have won 14 Grand Slam doubles as a team but since their last win together in Paris they have only featured on two further occasions at the tournament, losing in the first round in 2013 and the third round in 2016.

Serena, a three-time singles champion at the French Open, will be playing in her first Grand Slam tournament since winning the Australian Open in 2017 after which she stepped off the tour to give birth to her daughter in September.

On Thursday, she was drawn to face Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the first round of the singles which gets underway on Sunday. Venus starts against China's Wang Qiang.

(Inputs from PTI)

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