Mardy Fish: 'Roger Federer even gets his surgery schedule correct'

Due to coronavirus, the first Masters 1000 tournament of the season in Indian Wells had to be canceled, with the second one in Miami being uncertain as well. Most of the players were already in Indian Wells when the news came out and it will be interesting to follow the upcoming moves from both the ATP, WTA and the American local and federal authorities, also how the ATP will manage the ranking list next Monday. The USA Davis Cup captain Mardy Fish wrote on Twitter that Roger Federer chose the perfect moment to undergo knee surgery, with the uncertain schedule until June when the Swiss is going to make a comeback in Halle.

Turning 38 last August, Roger Federer embraced another rock-solid season in 2019, winning four ATP titles in Dubai, Miami, Halle and Basel, defending the place in the top-3 behind Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic and keeping much younger players behind him. Roger extended his record as the oldest Masters 1000 champion in Miami and played well on clay after skipping it for three years, reaching the semi-final at Roland Garros and gathering momentum ahead of grass season that saw him winning Halle and advancing into the final at beloved Wimbledon. Roger wasted two match points against Novak Djokovic to settle for the runner-up prize, earning one more title by the end of the season and securing the place at the ATP Finals where he played in the last four.

Deciding to skip the inaugural ATP Cup, Federer kicked off the new season at the Australian Open, overcoming two tough obstacles against John Millman and Tennys Sandgren to reach the semis where he lost to  Novak Djokovic in straight sets. Instead of preparing for Dubai, Roger shared the news with his fans about an ongoing knee injury that required surgery in February, with the Swiss skipping Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami and Roland Garros, targeting Halle as the first tournament on the comeback trail. With the current issues caused by a coronavirus, we are yet to see how many events will go on by then and how the ATP ranking list will look like, although Roger Federer is safe in the top-10 until that awaited return, ready to bounce back and hit the winning course as soon as possible.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2IxMdxn