Badminton ace pays tribute to Roger Federer and Serena Williams

Roger Federer and Serena Williams have been haunted by injuries in recent seasons. The Swiss phenomenon underwent two surgeries on his right knee last year and has not yet recovered full form. The former world number 1 failed to make it past the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, where he was neatly defeated by Hubert Hurkacz and even managed a bagel in the third set. A few days later, the 39-year-old from Basel announced that he would not take part in the Tokyo Olympic Games due to a knee relapse. She did not fare better to Serena, the victim of a slip during her first round match at the Championships. The American was forced to retire, having to postpone the engagement at Margaret Court for the umpteenth time at 24 Slams. For both of them, 2021 could represent the last season of their wonderful careers, even if you should never take anything for granted when it comes to such legends. It is not uncommon for athletes from other disciplines to use tennis players as a source of inspiration. This is the case of PV Sindhu, the badminton star, who never hid to admire the class of Roger and Serena.

Federer’s injury knee injury has been haunting him over the past two years

“Serena Williams believes she can do it, being a woman, being a mother. She’s done exceptionally well, she’s a strong woman. Whereas, Roger Federer, is another legend. Maintaining that level till now, at his age, is not easy. He’s been there at the top,” PV Sindhu said. Nadal and Federer have been the ones to win Majors without dropping a set - four times by the Spaniard (obviously at Roland Garros) and twice by Federer (once at Australian Open and once at Wimbledon). Fun fact: Roger Federer's best result at Slam before his first title (Wimbledon 2003) was a quarterfinal appearance (Roland Garros 2001 and Wimbledon 2001), while Rafael Nadal's best result before his first title (Roland Garros 2005) was reaching the fourth round (Australian Open 2005). Novak Djokovic, however, had reached a final and two semifinals before his first Slam title (Australian Open 2008). The second most prestigious tournament on the ATP circuit, the ATP Finals, is considered the unofficial "fifth Grand Slam" by some. Here, Roger Federer leads the other two with six titles to his name. Novak Djokovic is not far off with five titles, but Rafael Nadal surprisingly has never won this tournament. Federer’s injury knee injury has been haunting him over the past two years. The Swiss star lost against Hubert Hurkacz of Poland at the Wimbledon Championships. He withdrew from the Tokyo Olympic Games, in order to focus on his recovery and come back strong at the US Open.

 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3y5N8x8