'Roger Federer has not had a setback, but he has bad days', says his coach

It will be a rather unusual season for Roger Federer. The Swiss will conclude this 2020 with only one tournament played during the year, the Australian Open. After two knee surgeries, the Basel champion has decided not to compete again this year and to do specific work to try to get back to his best in 2021. His coach, Severin Luthi, in an interview with NZZ explained how the recovery time from injury is progressing. At the beginning of October there are plans to start training with a delay compared to the initial plan which planned to take the court in August.

Luthi on Roger Federer

“Rehab is going as usual; there were no setbacks,” Severin Luthi told the press in Switzerland. “Like everyone after surgery, Roger Federer has his good and bad days.” Luthi also hailed fitness coach Pierre Paganini for getting the 39-year-old back in action after such a lengthy spell on the sidelines. “He is working with his physical trainer, Pierre Paganini,” he explained. “The idea is to get back at 100% physically again, as we shouldn’t forget that the last time he competed was at the Australian Open in January. It is a big break, and it makes Pierre’s work very important at this stage.” The Swiss Maestro has held this record ever since he won the 2009 Wimbledon. At the time, it looked like no one would ever come close to it. But that is no longer the case. His biggest rivals, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, are now within striking distance of the record and that is not good for Roger. He needs to extend his lead in this race as it will determine who goes down as the GOAT of tennis. And hopefully, he will do that by winning his 7th Australian Open title when he returns in 2021. Dominic Thiem became the first player since 2016 not named Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic to win a major tournament. Federer was absent from Flushing Meadows as he continues to recover from injury. Nadal also refused to travel because of the coronavirus pandemic, while Djokovic was defaulted for hitting a line judge with a stray ball. It left the path clear for Thiem to win the biggest title of his career. But the world No 3 believes when the Big Three return to play Grand Slam tennis again he will be better suited to take them on.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3ixX4Yq