'Roger Federer had to adapt', says World Champion

Serena Williams was considered very close to the title and after her victory in the quarterfinals over world number two Simona Halep, many believed that the American was finally equaling Margaret Court. Serena did not succeed in this, bursting into tears in the post match against Naomi Osaka but at the same time Serena Williams equaled Roger Federer's record. With 5 victories in this tournament, in fact, Serena Williams reached 362 successes in Grand Slam trials and equaled Roger Federer's all-time record. The two have a great advantage over various athletes of the past and present and they see Martina Navratilova and Rafael Nadal among the best known and closest in this ranking. This data certifies once again the incredible career of Serena Williams and Roger Federer who, in the female and male panorama, will be remembered throughout their history. Thanks to the results obtained in this Australian Open 2021 Serena Williams is also the second oldest player to have reached a Grand Slam semi-final and there is curiosity if she will ever be able to break further records. On the other hand Roger Federer is stopped due to injury and will be back on the field on March 8th. Tennis legends Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and the Williams sisters have been dodging questions about their retirement for many years now. In that context, snooker legend Ronnie O' Sullivan has provided a unique perspective to the predicament faced by ageing sporting legends.

Roger Federer announced return to tennis at ATP Doha 250 in March

"I can’t compete with the younger players. They pot too good and have a lot of cue power," Ronnie O' Sullivan said in an interview with Eurosport. "It is like tennis, a lot of the older players like Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal." According to the Englishman, just the chance to be active - instead of being cooped up at home - is enough motivation for Federer to delay his retirement. "You have these young guys coming so they are not going to have it their own way as much, so you have to adapt. Does Roger Federer need to play? Probably not but he probably quite enjoys getting out of the house." He did travel to Dubai, his usual base for the pre-season training, and started practicing under the watchful eyes of his coach Ivan Ljubicic. Returning joy to fans anxious to see him back in play, Federer issued another release recently saying he would return at ATP Doha 250, which is scheduled to kick off on March 8th.

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