Severin Luthi: 'Roger Federer is yet to pick comeback event'

After playing only one tournament in 2020, Roger Federer is yet to decide his first stop of the upcoming season. The 20-time Major champion had to skip all the events after the Australian Open, undergoing two knee surgeries and preparing a comeback for January next year. Spending a couple of months at his home with family due to surgeries and a coronavirus outbreak, Roger is back at business, training with his physio Pierre Paganini and hoping to hit the court again in a couple of weeks. His coach Severin Luthi has confirmed that Federer works hard on the comeback, not considering the retirement and still thinking about his early schedule. With his team, Roger will try to bounce back strongly like in 2017, missing the second part of the 2016 season due to knee issues for the longest career break. At 35, Federer was eager to get back where he belongs, claiming three out of five Majors between Australian Open events in 2017 and 2018 to increase his Major tally that hadn't been touched since 2012, also becoming world no. 1 in February 2018.

In 2017, 2018 and 2019, Federer was the closest rival of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, fighting for big titles and leaving much younger opponents behind him. Federer lifted four ATP trophies in the previous season, including the 28th Masters 1000 title in Miami. At Wimbledon, Roger was the better player than Novak Djokovic, squandering two match points and losing all three tie breaks to stay empty-handed, still finishing the year inside the top-3. Federer had decided to skip the ATP Cup for Switzerland at the beginning of 2020, taking more time on the practice court ahead of the Australian Open, where he reached the semis after a rollercoaster ride. In the third round, Roger trailed 8-4 in the deciding tie break against John Millman, rattling off six straight points, avoiding an early exit and staying in contention. Federer struggled with a groin injury in the quarters, facing seven match points against Tennys Sandgren in the fourth set and fending them off for a miracle escape in five sets!

Roger Federer will skip the rest of the season after two knee surgeries.

Novak Djokovic proved to be too strong in the semis, 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 in early February, Roger announced a knee surgery, planning to return in June for the grass-swing in 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. Roger failed to eliminate the knee pain, though, having to undergo another surgery in May and deciding to skip the rest of the season and get ready for 2021. The organizers of the Diriyah Tennis Cup and Mubadala World Tennis Championship would love to see the Swiss in their field in December, and we all hope he will sign to play the ATP Cup for his country ahead of the Australian Open.

"There is still a long way to go, and we depend on the pandemic. There have been no tournaments talks; will he play the ATP Cup or some exhibition matches before Australia. It would not be wise to talk now about this or that playing, as that limits your planning," Severin Luthi said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/32D9Xek