Roger Federer explains why he thinks Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner both got injured this year

The ATP Tour has not been the same this year, and the reason why is simple: the absence of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

Their respective injury issues resulted in three missed Grand Slams between them, has drawn questions over the relative strength of the men's game at the minute, given the lack of players who have stepped up.

Only Alexander Zverev seems to have really taken advantage, having finally ended his career-long major title hoodoo.

Many have pointed to the ever-increasing tennis schedule as the main reason for these and many other injuries this year, with Alcaraz complaining about the gruelling schedule once again recently.

However, speaking to Sky Sports, Roger Federer has posed another theory.

Roger Federer discusses Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's injuries this year

Asked how he managed to keep fit in light of injuries to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner , and for his thoughts on their lengthy lay-offs, he admitted: "I mean I feel like it's a bit part of the game."

Federer then added, recalling experience gained during his own incredibly long career: "I mean, I think back in my career, in 2013 I didn't win a title, in 2016 I didn't win a title because of injuries, and we talk about, yeah, I was always there. Yeah, I was always there, but you have your ups and downs; you're fighting with some sort of an issue, and they had it maybe a little bit this year, but still they won both a Slam, both had a tremendous year regardless, so for me it was: when I look at the long runway, how do I keep longevity going and what are my goals, and then you work back from that.

'I think that helped me a lot. Of course, as a team it's like understanding how much you're playing, when to play, with whom to train, where to train. There's so many little details and then, let's be honest, sometimes you're just also unlucky. All of a sudden something hurts, you didn't realise it was that serious, and then you've got to just sit it out. I think maybe that's what happened with the guys a little bit this year."

This comes not long after Federer claimed Sinner has still had a better year than Zverev , despite recent arguments.