Marc Rosset: 'Roger Federer should consider skipping the Australian Open'

Former world no. 9 and Roger Federer's Davis Cup teammate Marc Rosset is not convinced about Roger's Melbourne trip. The first Major of the season will start on February 8 under strict rules and regulations, with reduced practice sessions and only a couple of people in the players' staff. Rosset believes that Roger will most probably skip the Australian Open and remain on the practice court, not willing to stay away from his family for a couple of weeks and experience all those restrictions at 39. Roger is currently recovering from the second severe knee injury in four years, playing only one tournament in 2020 and giving his best to get back at 100% ahead of Melbourne. Federer won four ATP titles in 2019 and finished inside the top-3 behind Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, hoping for more in 2020. The Swiss kicked off the 2020 campaign with the Australian Open semi-final run, passing two challenging obstacles in John Millman and Tennys Sandgren before losing to Novak Djokovic in straight sets.

As it turned out, that has been Federer's last official match of the year, experiencing a knee injury that required two surgeries in February and May. Roger spent time with his family during the coronavirus pandemic, experiencing the shortest season of his career and hitting the practice court again in October. Slowly increasing his training activities, Federer has been giving his best to return at his best and start the new season on a high note. Still, the Swiss recently said he is still not at 100%, announcing a tight race towards Melbourne and heading to Dubai for his regular pre-season practice sessions with Ivan Ljubicic.

Marc Rosset believes Roger Federer should consider skipping the Australian Open.

If they fail to prepare him for the first Major of the season, Ljubicic and Federer will continue their practice runs until the Swiss fully recovers. Roger will not rush anything at this point of his career, setting eyes on Wimbledon, Tokyo Olympics and the US Open as his prime targets for 2021. Thanks to his 2019 points, Federer is still ranked in the top-5 and should have a good starting position once he returns, eager to show his greatness again in the season when he turns 40. 

"To be honest, when you see the restrictions imposed on the players and the fact that there won't be many viewers, one has to wonder if Roger should take risks and travel to Australia. It wouldn't be the same for him without the family, especially at his age, and he might have something else to do than travel to Melbourne under these conditions," Marc Rosset said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3r84l5T