Roger Federer: 'You have to specially prepare for clay and grass, while...'

The tennis season had to face a very long stop due to the global pandemic. If there are no further upheavals, he will resume playing in August, even if the tour will have to do without Roger Federer. The Swiss phenomenon, which has undergone two knee operations in recent months, has decided to take all the necessary time and will return to the field only at the beginning of 2021. An understandable choice that of the 20-time Grand Slam champion, especially after the cancellation of Wimbledon and the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics to next year. Interviewed by the SRF broadcaster, the former World number 1 analyzed how a player's preparation in the Olympic year changes. The singles gold medal is one of the few awards still missing on King Roger 's wall.

Federer on tennis hiatus

“When you have been on the tour for 20 years you are happy to have a quieter year,” said Roger Federer. “You couldn‘t really prepare for Tokyo as there would have been 20 tournaments before. They are also very important, even though maybe not as important as Olympics, which have another significance. But we have many big events. That‘s why honestly said the preparation just starts 3 months in before,” Federer expressed. “It depends on which surface it is even though in tennis it‘s classic on hardcourt in Tokyo. Everyone can play on hardcourt but you have to specially prepare for clay and grass,” the eight-time Wimbledon champion admitted. “We have so many matches and competitions that whenever you take a break you know that someone else is winning in that time. That‘s why it is extremely difficult to say ‘I take a break,'” Federer added. “Now everyone are forced to have a break and I think that 90% of the players are thinking ‘Fortunately I can have a break. Tennis is constant and nonstop,'” he finished. The last official appearance of the Swiss goes back to the Australian Open, where he hit a very good semi-final considering the difficulties along the way. After taking a huge risk with both John Millman in the third round and Tennys Sandgren in the quarterfinals, Federer surrendered to the future champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinal. The Swiss star turns 39 this August and has enjoyed unprecedented success both on- and off-the-court throughout his lengthy career. In May, he was named the world’s highest-earning athlete by Forbes due in large part to his many endorsements. He is also the most decorated male tennis player in history, including a gold medal from the 2008 Beijing games in men’s doubles and a silver from the 2012 London games in men’s singles.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2CT3QZv