Severin Luthi: 'Roger Federer has never considered retirement. He will bounce back''

After the coronavirus outbreak, the tennis season is back and running, with an exciting US Open final played on Sunday night. The 20-time Major winner Roger Federer will not fight for the trophies in the rest of 2020, undergoing two knee surgeries and preparing a comeback for January next year. Spending a couple of months at his home with family, Roger is back to business, training with his physio Pierre Paganini and planning to hit the court again in October. His coach Severin Luthi has confirmed that Roger works hard on the comeback, not considering the retirement. After getting back into shape, Federer will make an early schedule with his team, not the strict one, as he wants to have all the options covered. Federer hopes to perform a similar comeback like in 2017, missing the second part of the 2016 season due to knee issues.

Determined to get back where he belongs, Federer claimed three out of five Majors between two Australian Open events in 2017 and 2018, adding more fuel to his Major tally that hadn't been touched since 2012 and becoming world no. 1 in February 2018. The Swiss maestro challenged Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the top in the previous three years, reaching the latter stages of the most notable events and leaving much younger opponents behind him. In 2019, Federer secured four ATP trophies, including the Masters 1000 crown in Miami. At Wimbledon, Roger squandered two match points in the title match against Novak Djokovic but gaining enough points to keep much younger rivals behind him in the year-end rankings and finish in the top-3. Federer didn't play the ATP Cup for Switzerland at the beginning of the current season, taking more time on the practice court ahead of Melbourne, where he reached the semis after a rollercoaster ride.

Roger Federer plans to return to the court in January 2021.

In the third round, he trailed 8-4 in the deciding tie break against John Millman, rattling off six straight points and avoid an early exit. In the quarters, Federer struggled with an injury, facing seven match points against Tennys Sandgren in the fourth set and fending off them all to prevail in the decider! There, Novak Djokovic proved to be too strong, beating Roger in straight sets in what has been the last official match for the Swiss so far. After the record-breaking Cape Town encounter with Rafael Nadal, Roger announced a knee surgery, planning to return in June for Halle and Wimbledon.

The coronavirus pandemic had halted the tennis action in March, offering an excellent chance for the Swiss to continue from the same position as his rivals once the season would start again. Despite the surgery, Roger failed to eliminate the knee pain, bothering him enough to undergo another surgery in May, deciding to skip the rest of the season and get ready for 2021. Turning 39 in August, Federer is still eager to fight for notable titles in the next year or two, hoping to extend his career and offer fans more of his magic.

"The idea is to get back on the court in October. Roger needs to train on his physical strength before that. The vital part of the comeback plan comes in October, November and December. Withdrawal is something that has never been considered. Roger wants to take his time, and we agree not to be overwhelmed. We have a schedule, but we will not insist on it. That is, if he needs more weeks, he will take them. Getting physically fit is the key to compete on a high level again; that is the goal," Severin Luthi said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3bWl7Ol