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When organizers finalized plans to move the Australian Open to February from its usual start of January, the world’s 100 best men and women rushed to sign up, longing to play a Grand Slam in a country with few coronavirus cases, even if meant a two-week quarantine upon arrival.
Then just days after signing, Roger Federer announced on Monday that he would not be playing in Australia, after all, while recovering from knee surgeries.
Federer hopes to play again, but will the comeback take the form of a farewell tour or a legitimate run at the championships? Federer turns 40 in August.
He has not played a competitive tournament since the 2020 Australian Open, where he beat two five-set matches before falling to Novak Djokovic, the eight-time champion, in the semi-finals. He also played a charity game in South Africa in February, but announced early during the pandemic that he would be shutting down for the remainder of the season as the sport itself was up and running when he could return.
While recovering in Switzerland from his first knee surgery during the opening lockdown, Federer delighted the fans by hitting in the snow outside his home. Then came her announcement that she had undergone a second surgery in the spring and spoke of her slow recovery.
“I had two knee surgeries, so she’s been dominated by it: rehabbing myself, using crutches, recovering from the surgery, and taking it step by step. I have to say that I already feel much better again, ”he said during a sponsoring appearance last summer.
Unsurprisingly, he skipped the US Open and the French Open. Tennis inched into its next phase, as Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev battled in the US Open final to become the first men’s Grand Slam winner since 2014, with Thiem at the top. (Rafael Nadal skipped the tournament to avoid traveling to the US and Djokovic was sent off for hitting a ball that hit a linesman.)
Nadal tied Federer for his 20th Grand Slam at the French Open in October.
Federer remained hopeful that he could appear in Australia, especially after it became clear that the tournament would be delayed for three weeks to accommodate strict protocols for international travelers, including players.
But in a statement to The Associated Press, Tony Godsick, Federer’s agent, said that Federer had decided that despite recent progress, his best chance of success in his remaining time in professional tennis would be to return after the Open. from Australia.
“I will start discussions next week for the tournaments that start in late February and then I will start building a schedule for the rest of the year,” Godsick said.
That could include plans for the Olympics, where Federer won a gold medal in doubles in 2008 and a silver in singles in 2012.
In a statement, Craig Tiley, Australian Open tournament director, said: “The Australian Open has always held a special place in your heart – remember it was Roger who first called the Australian Open the ‘happy slam.’ “.
Federer is still No. 5 in the world. He last won the Australian Open in 2018 at age 37. It is his most recent Grand Slam title. After nearly winning Wimbledon in 2019, it looked like he could compete at the highest level for several more years.
Now it’s unclear when he could return, let alone compete against his longtime rivals Djokovic and Nadal.
