'At the beginning I was a bit nervous with Roger Federer', says young ace

Having the chance to see legends such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal up close is a unique experience, especially for a young champion of world tennis. The Swiss and Spaniard are currently paired at 20 Grand Slam titles each, after the 34-year-old Majorcan triumphed at Roland Garros for the 13th time in his incredible career. 2020, on the other hand, gave little satisfaction to the phenomenon from Basel, who played only one official tournament before undergoing two knee surgeries within a few months. In the last few hours, another cold shower has arrived for the countless fans of the 39-year-old Swiss, who announced his forfeit at the Australian Open due to a fitness still far from 100%. The big goals of the 20-time Grand Slam champion will be Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics, which could be Federer's last effort before he hangs up his racquet. In a recent interview with Tennis Majors, 17-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz recalled his training session with King Roger at Wimbledon last year.

Alcaraz on training with Roger Federer

“With Rafael Nadal no, but I have practiced with Roger Federer at Wimbledon,” Carlos Alcaraz said. “It went extremely well, it was a unique experience for me. I was very pleased afterwards and I learnt a lot. At the beginning I was a bit nervous since a lot of people were watching us, but as the practice went on, I started to relax more and ultimately I enjoyed it very much.” Prior to the injury that kept him out of most of the 2020 season, Roger Federer was in solid form. He ended 2019 as the third best player in the world, a season in which he won titles in Dubai, Miami, Halle and Basel while also finishing runner-up at Wimbledon and Indian Wells. But Federer's fitness and endurance at the Grand Slams had been questionable even before the current knee predicament. The Swiss won just four Majors in the last decade, and had started suffering increasingly early defeats over the past few years. The warning signs of Roger Federer's decline from the top of the men's game have been visible for a while. But in the past couple of years there have been physical worries too, which don't seem likely to ever go away. Over the years, Federer has enjoyed tremendous success at the venue. The first time he ever won at the Open was as a 22-year-old young man and he won his last Australian Open as a 36-year-old. When he made his return to the tour, under similar circumstances as he currently faces, the Swiss had made one of the greatest comebacks in sports. He won 2 majors that season. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3aQ1Yza