Jim Courier - Roger Federer always a semi-final candidate in the majors
How far can Roger Federer get after his comeback at the Australian Open 2021? And what circumstances would help him?
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Nov 24, 2020, 09:33 am
When it comes to the final stages of the Australian Open, hardly anyone is closer to the players than Jim Courier. The ex-champion has been conducting interviews on the big show courts in Melbourne for many years. A frequent guest: Roger Federer. The Swiss celebrated his last victory at a Grand Slam tournament Down Under at the beginning of 2018, where the attack on the next successes should be in a few weeks (or months?).
And Jim Courier is convinced that Federer will go far. "I would be surprised if Roger doesn't make it to the semi-finals," Courier said a few days ago in his role as an expert on the Tennis Channel. "When he's fit."
That is actually the big question: In what condition can Roger Federer get back into the tennis circuit? And: How much match practice does the 39-year-old need to get far in Australia? The ranking system decided on this year will probably save Federer more tricky opponents until the third round, after which it will go into full force.
Federer hopes for quick places
On the other hand: Who would have thought in 2020 that Federer would have such problems with John Millman (even if he had already lost to the Australian at the US Open) and, above all, Tennys Sandgren? The maestro had to fend off seven match balls against the American . And did not seem physically at the height of his work. In the semifinals against Novak Djokovic , despite a lightning start, it was over in three sets.
External circumstances will also play a role in Federer's comeback: on the one hand, the temperatures in the Australian summer. On the other hand, the nature of the courts for the first major of the year. "He wants the courts to be very fast when he arrives in Australia," said Andy Roddick, also an expert on the Tennis Channel. “That makes his game plan much more pleasant. Then he doesn't have to play long rallies. "