Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic bold predictions made by Annabel Croft

Croft also predicted Novak Djokovic to take his incredible form into the new season by winning the Australian Open.

It is unclear how long Federer, 37, will be able to continue competing with the best.

The Swiss star had a disappointing end to 2018 with failing to defend his Wimbledon title and suffering a shock early loss at the US Open.

However, Croft reckons the 20-time Grand Slam winner still has plenty left in the tank.

“To me he is not ready to retire yet,” Croft said.

“I think he still absolutely loves playing tennis.

“Three or four years ago, when he had a difficult season and struggled with back issues, I remember him saying ‘You (the press) all want to put me in retirement, even if I lose matches I still love playing’.

“I think until he keeps enjoying it and his wife enjoys the travelling and everything, as he said, he will play for a few more years.”

Meanwhile, Croft also tipped Djokovic to start the new season in top form.

The Serbian won Wimbledon, Cincinnati Masters, US Open and Shanghai Masters over the past six months.

However, he lost to Alexander Zverev in the ATP Finals after already securing the year-end world No 1 ranking.

But the recent defeat will not slow down his progress in 2019.

“I’d say he is the favourite from what we saw last year, but the offseason is always an interesting time, with players working on their games, almost a little bit in secret working with their teams,” Croft added.

Croft also noted a number of youngster who could stamp their mark next year.

“The youngsters are really making their ways, we will see a lot more from Zverev, [Karen] Khachanov, [Stefanos] Tsitsipas, [Alex] De Minaur, [Borna] Coric, [Dominic] Thiem.

“It’s really a really, really interesting time ahead of the future for the men’s tennis.”