Roger Federer: 'It’s not day by day but more week by week progress'

He has been stopped for several months due to a double surgery, but both insiders and fans around the world can't wait for Roger Federer to return to delight by playing on a tennis court. His official return should arrive in January with the Australian Open 2021, but in the meantime, to the microphones of the newspaper Schweizer Illustrierte, the Swiss gave updates on his physical condition.

Federer looking to regain his lead

“I am doing well, my family is good. It’s a long process, it’s not day by day but more week by week progress. I practiced a bit last week. Next year the beginning of January will be back on the court. Enjoy family time in Switzerland,” Roger Federer said. Federer is definitely looking to get back to playing tennis. However, he is not in any hurry as he is enjoying his time at home. “Last time I stayed home over 6 weeks is at age 16. Being at home is more relaxing, not just for me but for my children… could sleep in sometimes because I go to bed late. No match stress. Enjoy going for a hike, kids are doing home school anyway.” Federer’s situation now is an echo of 2016, when he took off the last six months of the year because of knee trouble and returned to competition the following January in Australia. On that occasion he capped a remarkable return by winning two of the next three Grand Slam titles, at Melbourne and Wimbledon. By the following February, after winning his 20th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, he had even recaptured top spot in the world rankings. His fans will no doubt be hoping for a repeat performance, but while you learn never to write off the player widely acknowledged as the greatest in history, to win another Grand Slam title would surely amount to the mother of all comebacks. Provided he is fit you can be pretty sure that Federer will be competitive again, but whether he can hold off the combined forces of his great rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic and a pack of hungry young pretenders is another matter. Instead it seems likely that 2021 will amount to a farewell tour. At one stage it had seemed that Federer had earmarked 2020 for his departure: his original intention to play at Roland Garros and his commitment to play at the Olympics in Tokyo felt like part of a plan for a last appearance on the sport’s greatest stages. The knee surgery then ripped out one of the key dates from his schedule, while the postponement of the Olympics until 2021 because of the world health crisis ruled out another part of the plan.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/37Zn9Nz