'Roger Federer is only going to play where he thinks he can win', says analyst

After a hiatus of nearly six months due to the global pandemic, the tennis season has resumed in earnest and the US Open began on Monday. Due to a knee injury sustained earlier in the year, Swiss phenomenon Roger Federer has decided to end 2020 early with the aim of fully recovering form. The 39-year-old from Basel would like to be back in action early next year, having already targeted Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympics and the Laver Cup. The former World No.1 is currently the oldest player in the ATP Top 100, but - unlike some insiders - Greg Rusedski believes the 20-time Grand Slam champion still has something to say in the last part of his career. According to statements by Severin Luthi and Ivan Ljubicic, 2021 may not even be Federer's last season.

Rusedski on Roger Federer

"Last time he had a six-month break, he came back better than ever. So I expect Roger Federer to be back next year," Greg Rusedski said on Amazon Prime Video. "He is only going to play where he thinks he can win majors or events. And the big goal for him is the Tokyo Olympics. He doesn't have a gold medal in the singles and that's something he is desperate for as well as another Grand Slam. I think he is going to come back and be strong in 2021 so don't discount him ever" - he added. Meanwhile, Federer's great rival Novak Djokovic eased into the second round of the US Open. "I can speak on my own behalf obviously. Every player has a different way of, I guess, approaching these streaks. I mean, there are not too many players, both men and women, that have had long streaks of 20 plus matches won in a row. But having had that experience for me couple times before in my career obviously helps because I am aware of it absolutely. I can't lie. I'm also not overanalyzing or I'm not overthinking about it. By virtue of potentially doing that, I would put an additional pressure that I really don't need at this point. I know pressure is a privilege, pressure is part of what we do. I try to embrace it. I don't have an issue with pressure because I'm used to it. I have had so many matches in my career that I kind of won when I was down, big slams and stuff. "I know what I need to do and how to behave, how to make myself calm and composed and focused on what really needs to be done."

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