Roger Federer works hard ahead of 2021 Australian Open return

The 20-time Major champion Roger Federer is not competing at the US Open or any other tournament by the end of the season. Experiencing knee surgeries in February and May, the Swiss maestro had decided to skip the rest of 2020 and come back stronger in January 2021. Spending the last couple of months at home in Switzerland with his family, Roger had enough time to focus on things outside tennis that would have been impossible at this time of the year if it was a regular season, charging batteries and starting to train again. In 2016, Federer had been bothered by his knee too, playing only seven tournaments and calling it a season after Wimbledon. Well-rested and determined to show his best tennis again, Federer claimed three out of five Majors between the Australian Open 2017-18, improving his Major tally that had been frozen since 2012 and proving his everlasting class and greatness after becoming world no. 1 in 2018.

In the previous three seasons, Federer was there to challenge Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal at the top, winning four ATP titles in 2019 to finish third behind his greatest rivals. At Wimbledon, Roger wasted a massive opportunity to add another Major trophy to his collection, squandering two match points in the final against Novak Djokovic and earning enough points to keep much younger rivals behind him in the year-end rankings. Skipping the ATP Cup at the beginning of the year, Roger kicked off the current season with the Australian Open's semi-final run, advancing into the last four after many troubles. In the third round, Federer trailed 8-4 in the deciding tie break against John Millman, only to grab four straight points and avoid an early exit. Two rounds later, the Swiss had to deal with an even more severe test, playing against seven match points versus Tennys Sandgren in the fourth set!

Roger Federer will return to the court in January 2021. 

Ready to give his all, Roger erased them all, prevailing in five sets but having nothing left in the tank for the semi-final duel with Novak Djokovic. After that record-breaking Cape Town encounter against Rafael Nadal, Roger announced a knee surgery, planning to get back on the court in June in Halle and Wimbledon. The coronavirus pandemic had halted the tennis action in March and it was a perfect opportunity for the Swiss to continue from the same position as his rivals once tennis would restart. Instead of that, his knee pay didn't want to go away, requiring another surgery in May and deciding to skip the rest of the season and get ready for 2021. At 39, Federer will try to reproduce the 2017 comeback and fight for the notable titles again, eager to extend his career and stay competitive for at least one more season.   

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3lWU75O