Roger Federer: "Wimbledon, Olympia and US Open have priority"
Roger Federer caused confusion with his speech at the Swiss "Sports Awards". What about his future?
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Dec 16, 2020, 01:39 pm
What about Roger Federer? It's the big question, especially since Sunday. Federer was named the best Swiss athlete of the past 70 years at the Swiss "Sport Awards". And shocked the tennis world with the statement: "I hope there is still something to see from me in the new year. We will see it. But if that was it for me, who knows, then this is an incredible end point for me at those Sports Awards. "
Did Federer hereby indicate a possible resignation? How is his recovery process really doing? And could Federer actually end his career due to an injury?
Federer had to undergo another operation a short time later after an initial operation on his right knee in February and canceled the rest of 2020 .
The 20-time major champion recently said in a conversation : "I can feel that I still have something in the tank. And if not, that's it. But I definitely won't stop now." and promised: "In the near future I will not resign."
After the winner's speech on Sunday, however, it is unclear whether it will continue in 2021. It is certain, and Federer admitted that, that the comeback will not go as planned. "I would have hoped that I would be at 100 percent in October. But I am still not today. It will be close for the Australian Open," he said . But limited: "Except for the second operation, which was a huge damper, everything went as planned."
Federer's goals: Wimbledon, Olympia, US Open
He wanted to "take enough time", explained Federer, "only when we are sure that we can move on to the next step, we will do it." Good for him: the postponement of the Australian Open, which, as of today, should start on February 7th, giving Federer more time. Even if he indirectly indicated that an appearance in Melbourne is probably not decisive. "The summer with Wimbledon, the Olympic Games and the US Open has priority."
What a possible tournament plan could look like without a trip to Australia, whether Federer would also play on clay, seems open. In 2017, when he made his comeback after the knee operation the year before (at that time it was the left knee), Federer skipped the sand, it would have been too critical for the knee due to the stresses caused by sliding. The success, with the Wimbledon victory, proved him right. A model for 2020 too?
The good thing: The pure work outside of the field, i.e. muscle building and conditioning training, seems to be over. He now has to see "how the next few months are going," said the 39-year-old. "Now we have to see how it works with tennis."
Resigning due to injury is the worst thing for an athlete - most people try everything to celebrate the end of their career on the court. Will Federer succeed too? I wish it very much.