Roger Federer: 'You have to stay focused on the ball and not be bored'

Roger Federer will turn 40 in August next year, but he has no intention of hanging his racquet. The Swiss phenomenon, who has missed almost all of 2020 due to a double operation on his right knee, is expected to return to the field at the Australian Open 2021 after 11 months of hiatus. It is useless to deny that doubts have been raised in recent months about the real chances of the 39-year-old from Basel to return to competition, even if the precedent of 2017 heartens his countless fans around the world. The new pandemic-induced ranking system also allowed the 20-time champion to maintain a place in the Top 5, which is excellent news less than two months before the start of the first Grand Slam of the season. Federer's main goals in 2021 will be Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics, to try and win that gold medal in singles that is still missing from his wall. In a recent interview with Courts Mag, Roger illustrated what traveling with his wife and four children means to him.

Roger Federer on travelling with his family

Roger Federer, who will turn 40 years old next August, is usually accompanied by wife Mirka and their four kids on the road. The Swiss believes traveling with the family is challenging, but he plans to continue as long as everyone is happy and the results keep coming. "I think organizing the entire family to get on the road, takes major organisation. Just the planning skill and also patience and all that stuff is a lot of work. As long as all of it is worth it and kids are happy on the road and we have a good time it's all good," Federer continued. In 2016, Federer took a six-month break from the tour because of knee surgery. Despite the long hiatus, Federer made a scintillating comeback the following year by winning two Grand Slam titles. With a win-loss record of 54–5 in the 2017 season, Federer clinched seven titles in total. With the Tokyo Olympics postponed to July next year, Federer is most likely to tweak his schedule accordingly to avoid fatigue. The World No. 5 has never won an Olympic gold medal in singles, although he won the Olympic men’s doubles title in 2008 with Stan Wawrinka. Before the decision regarding quarantine, things were not looking good for the first Grand Slam of 2021. The ATP Cup, which was to be played before the Australian Open was canceled. This raised a lot of concern as to whether the event will take place or not. Now that the issue regarding quarantine has been solved, things are looking better. There are still some questions that need to be answered, like the number of spectators that will be allowed. However, the organizers will respond to this soon and we should see a successful event next year.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2VuoZ1E