Roger Federer and Andy Murray shared the practice court together before Wimbledon began.
Watching two-time Wimbledon champion Murray fall to Denis Shapovalov in straight sets on Centre Court Friday night, Federer said he can empathize with the challenges his fellow former world No. 1 is facing.
More: Murray’s Mixed Emotions
Federer, who launched his comeback this season after undergoing a pair of right knee surgeries, said coming off rehab can force players to make training compromises based on the workload their bodies can tolerate.
“I totally know what he’s trying to say because if you have to make compromises every single day, instead of practice you have to rest, instead of practicing three hours you can only practice an hour and a half. Whatever it is,” Federer said after defeating Cameron Norrie to reach his record-extending 18th Wimbledon fourth round. “If it’s every day like this, you have to cut back on different types of those choices, yeah, it makes things more complicated.
“On top of it all, you can’t probably play 35 tournaments any more. Now you’re playing maybe 25, maybe 15 or less. All these things really matter in a player’s mind. I totally understand where he’s coming from. Plus he’s also had a tough year. He hasn’t played many matches. There’s clearly some question marks.”
Two-time Olympic gold-medal champion Murray candidly discussed his frustration following his loss to Shapovalov.
“If my game is not quite spot-on physically, I’m not perfect, or physically, like, really fresh, it’s going to be hard for me,” Murray said. “It’s extremely frustrating, because I feel like I put a lot of work into getting to this point, and then obviously to lose like that is tough.
“You know, if I’m going to put that much effort in, I want to be performing better than what I did here. Even though there were some great moments.”
The 34-year-old Murray conceded he thought his competitive career could be done prior to his comeback from hip resurfacing surgery he underwent on January 28th, 2019 following a tearful Australian Open exit.
It was Murray’s second hip surgery in a year. Nearly 10 months after his second surgery, Murray claimed his 46th career title and first since Dubai in February of 2017 when he fought off Stan Wawrinka, 3-6 6-4 6-4 in front of a packed house at the European Open in Antwerp. Murray concluded 2019 with an 11-7 record earning ATP Comeback Player of the Year honors.
At the Western & Southern Open last August, Murray surprised fifth-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 scoring his first Top 10 win in three years. It was Murray’s first Top 10 win since he defeated ninth-ranked Kei Nishikori in the 2017 Roland Garros quarterfinals.
Eight-time Wimbledon winner Federer says Murray has earned the respect and admiration of fellow players for the passion and dedication he’s displayed going through “major stuff.”
“At the same time he should be very, very happy about himself. I think he has a huge admiration from all the players what he’s going through because that is not just some simple knee thing like maybe some others,” Federer said. “This is major stuff he’s going through.
“I wish him only the best. Everybody hopes he stays on tour and keeps on going, to be honest. But, of course, most of all he needs to be happy. That goes with being healthy clearly.”
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