Roger Federer says his recovery from two knee surgeries is taking longer than expected and he may miss the Australian Open.
Important points:
- Federer said his priorities for 2021 are Wimbledon, the US Open and the Tokyo Olympics
- The 39-year-old was operated on twice this year
- Federer has played a record of 21 consecutive Australian Open since losing in the 1999 first qualifying round
The 20-time Grand Slam champion said he hopes to play tennis again in the new year, but if his career were above a Swiss sports award he received at the weekend, it would be an “incredible end for me”.
The 39-year-old Federer has not played a competitive game since his loss to Novak Djokovic in this season’s semi-finals at Melbourne Park.
He said the late start of the first major of the season, which is expected to take place on February 8 instead of January 18, may still not offer enough time to recover.
“I would have hoped that I would be 100 percent in October. But I am not yet today. It will be close for the Australian Open,” said Federer.
“It’s a race against time for the Australian Open. I’m excited to see if it starts on February 8th.
“Of course it would help if I had a little more time.”
Award would be “an incredible ending for me”
The six-time Australian Open champion said his priorities for 2021 are Wimbledon, the US Open and the Tokyo Olympics, where he would go for his first gold medal for singles, the only grand prize still missing.
At the award ceremony on the weekend, at which he was named the best Swiss athlete since 1950, Federer hoped for a comeback next year.
“But if that were the case, it would have been an incredible end for me at these sports awards.”
Federer had two knee operations this year, the second in the middle of the year. He also had knee surgery in 2016.
On that occasion, he made an extraordinary comeback and won his fifth Australian Open crown in 2017 with an epic triumph over Rafael Nadal in his first official tournament appearance in six months.
Federer has played a record of 21 consecutive Australian Open since losing in the 1999 first qualifying round.
Tennis Australia is working closely with the Victorian and federal governments to set quarantine requirements for the roughly 2,500 players and their surroundings.
Open Director Craig Tiley said three weeks ago that he hopes to confirm the new launch date within 14 days.
But Victorian Prime Minister Daniel Andrews has said almost daily that the process is complex and it is hoped that an announcement will soon be made confirming that the 2021 Open will continue.
With COVID-19 under control in Victoria, organizers are hoping that viewer capacity can be up to 50 percent, up from previous expectations of 25 percent.
AAP / Reuters
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