'Roger Federer has nothing to lose or prove anything,' says Michael Stich

At 39, Roger Federer is still eager to extend his career and chase notable titles, despite the most extended break of his career! Roger has been sidelined since the last year's Australian Open, struggling with a knee injury and undergoing two surgeries in February and May. After the second, Roger decided to call it a season and focus on 2021, working hard on his comeback since October and increasing his training sessions' pace. Federer couldn't recover in time for the recently finished Australian Open, taking more time on the practice court and announcing Doha return in two weeks. The 1991 Wimbledon champion Michael Stich is eager to see Roger back on the court, saying that the Swiss should play with no pressure, as he has nothing to prove or lose. Federer will try to shape his game ahead of his beloved Wimbledon, dreaming about the ninth All England Club crown and hoping to challenge the rivals from the top despite turning 40 in August.

"It is clear that Roger will stop at some point. Many would have thought that already five years ago. We have no influence on that. I would wish for him to win Wimbledon and say after the final: 'You know what, I had a sick time, I'll stop.' There couldn't be anything better, and that would give so much to the sport. You should never write him off because he is a player who has a gifted set of skills that help him to still play tennis that well at his age. He may have the problem that the younger generation no longer has this massive respect for him because he was out for a year.

Roger Federer should return in Doha in two weeks.

The mental side plays a significant role there. Still, he remains a title contender at Wimbledon because of his All England Club mental strength and the greatest joy of playing there. The nice thing is that everyone is looking forward to his comeback and wants to see what happens. He has nothing to lose. He doesn't have to prove anything to himself or fans out there.

He's really doing it because he thinks he can still win titles. As a spectator and fan, I naturally wish that the torch's passing would still happen during the active time of the 'Big Three.' It's the big goal of all young players that they would like to beat Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in a Major final. Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro and Stan Wawrinka did that. It's up to the young generation now, and they are no longer 19. They are all 22, 23, 26. Dominic Thiem achieved it at the US Open. One would wish that they actively shape this transition, but that is looking into the future. We have a generation in which three players shaped this period extremely. Now is a chance for the others to step into the spotlight. The next generation will follow in their footsteps; I'm not worried about that," Michael Stich said.

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