Doubts grow with Federer before the Laver Cup

Roger Federer arrived in London this Sunday to compete from this Friday in the Laver Cup, his last tournament as a professional after announcing last Thursday his retirement after this competition in which he will share a team with Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic, his two great rivals but at the same time great friends.

The Laver Cup organization itself published a photo of Federer landing in London on social media for the tournament dispute. However, in recent hours there has been speculation the possibility that Federer will not play in the tournament due to the knee injury that has weighed him down in recent years.

A possibility that has gained strength after the statements by Pierre Paganini, one of Federer’s physical trainers, in an interview with the Swiss newspaper Blick. “I think that Federer will decide at the last moment whether or not he plays in the Laver Cup. Keep training to get the best possible feeling to know if it’s a good idea or not.”

In this interview, Paganini also confessed that the decision to withdraw Federer began to take shape in July. “Being in his inner circle, you know what Roger thinks, and this is not a spontaneous decision that he announced on Thursday at a quarter past three. Federer had been groping his retirement since July, when when he began to combine various training exercises he realized that he had to take more detours and try harder.

For Paganini, the announcement of Federer’s retirement is a wise decision, as he applauds the effort of the Swiss to remain in the elite, but also confesses that he feared an injury that could cause more physical problems in the future. “I think Federer has made a smart decision. It’s not just about the knee. Roger has played many matches in his career and has put his body under extreme stress. He has made an incredible effort these years to compete at a world level. Imagine the training sessions he will have done until he is 41 years old! It’s a miracle how he’s fared in the last five years. Roger’s decision is very wise and it’s also a relief for me, because we don’t want him to get injured again and have physical problems in the future”.