'We don't know how Roger Federer will recover', says former ATP star

Roger Federer is the dream mixed doubles partner for almost all female tennis players. The speech is also clearly valid for his compatriot Belinda Bencic, who was lucky enough to have played with the Basel champion in the past. The mixed doubles team Bencic-Federer have had a string of successes on many occasions and have won a few consecutive Hopman Cup titles in 2018 and 2019. However, with the Hopman Cup now replaced by the ATP Cup, there is a chance that witness the magical doubles team again ahead of next year's Tokyo Olympics. Originally scheduled for July 2020, the Olympics have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. If you were to play the ATP Cup, the conditional is a must given the risks due to the health emergency that is affecting the whole world, including Australia, this tournament could be a good test bed to test the couple's affinity in view of the upcoming Olympic Games. Meanwhile, former French player Paul-Henri Mathieu explained that given his age, Roger Federer will only be able to assess his chances of returning to the top after he actually starts playing.

Mathieu on Roger Federer

"Honestly for Roger Federer, I find it hard to believe that is an advantage," Paul-Henri Mathieu said. "We don't know how he will recover. In all fairness, I think he himself, deep down, doesn't know. When you stop for a long time, especially at that age, you don't know how you're going to feel when you go back to it." The Frenchman, who never defeated Federer in seven career meetings, believes that coming back after such a long layoff will be complicated for the 20-time Grand Slam champion - even with his aggressive style of play. "Even though Roger Federer has a style of play whereby he can shorten exchanges, over the duration of an entire tournament, in 5 sets, it seems super complicated," Mathieu added. At 39, Federer will once again take the court in Australia after a year-long break from tennis. His passion and his commitment to the game have not diminished despite increasing age. Therefore, it would indeed be a spectacle to watch if he can lift one more Grand Slam title. Nadal has won the French Open a record 13 times, and he proved his clay court superiority once again at this year's event. "For Rafa on clay, this 5-set format is still an advantage. He is the one who masters the game so much that he tires less than his opponent. And that leaves him a greater margin of error than on a Best of three sets. He can lose a set and make up for it. The longer the match, the greater his margin," Mathieu stated.

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