Almost exactly a year ago, Roger Federer played his last match on the tennis tour. That was in the semifinals of the Australian Open against Novak Djokovic. Since then it has been quiet about the tennis professional. On the one hand because of the Corona-related interruption of the season, on the other hand because Federer had to undergo knee operations twice. To date he has not participated in any ATP tournaments.
Croatian doubts the comeback
The way back to old strength takes longer than originally planned. After his first knee operation, Roger Federer had to go under the knife a second time. Then the 39-year-old wanted to prepare for the Australian Open. However, this did not work as expected, so that Roger Federer decided not to compete in Melbourne at the end of December. When exactly he will return to the tennis stage remains uncertain, as well as his condition at that point in time.
A Croatian tennis legend expressed doubts about another spectacular comeback like 2017, when Federer won the Australian Open after a six-month break. Nikola Pilic cannot imagine that Roger Federer could win another major tournament or two. The former Swiss tennis player Heinz Günthardt has a different opinion. He said on SRF: “As long as Roger believes that he can win titles, he will feel like going on.”
Federer remains ambitious
Roger Federer is still working on his comeback. Most recently, the 20-time Grand Slam winner said that he can train fully again, but the strength and stamina are not yet enough for a match over three or even five sets. Nevertheless, Roger Federer’s big goal will probably be the Summer Olympics. Although Federer won the Olympic gold medal in doubles with Stan Wawrinka in 2008, he had to be satisfied with the silver medal in singles in 2012. Thus the victory at the Olympic Games remains the last big title that Roger Federer does not yet have.
In addition to the Olympics in Tokyo, the Basel bidder is doing everything to ensure that it is enough to participate in Wimbledon again. The traditional tournament in England, which Roger Federer has already won eight times, is one of his favorite tournaments.
Highs could fall
It is well known that the competition never sleeps. This is not the case in tennis either. With Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, King Roger has had great rivals for years. Exactly these could dispute some historical records this year. The Spaniard Rafael Nadal won his 20th Grand Slam title in Paris in 2020, drawing level with Roger Federer. With a win at the Australian Open, Rafael Nadal would overtake Federer.
Novak Djokovic could soon overtake Roger Federer as well. That if the Serb remains number one for at least nine weeks. Because Djokovic has now been in first place for a total of 302 weeks. Roger Federer holds the record for most weeks as world number one with 310 weeks. It is now up to the Basel bidder to provide the answers.
