After Ivan Ljubicic acknowledged that Roger Federer’s recovery is progressing slowly but surely, the former Croatian player and Swiss coach himself confirmed that there is no chance for him to be present at the Australian Open 2022.
“There is no chance. When you are 40 you cannot recover as fast as before and will only return when it is 100%,” he commented before sending a message to those who doubt Roger Federer’s reappearance. “We have talked a lot and I can guarantee that he wants to continue playing tennis.
I don’t think he will retire abruptly and in the short term,” he confirmed to Reuters. There is a lot of speculation around 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer. The 40-year-old recently mentioned that it would be highly unlikely for him to participate in the 2022 Australian Open as he is still going through his recovery process.
What Federer and Djokovic said
“What kind of image will people remember of me? My last set at Wimbledon last July? Or my Grand Slam titles and what it sparked in them when they saw me play? My money is on the latter.
For a few years now, I’ve been pretty relaxed about that,” said Federer. The Swiss Maestro, in a sense, stressed that there is no right time to retire. This could be a clue that the 40-year-old has no plans to participate in any kind of farewell match.
“I think every athlete should decide for himself. There is no right time to retire. There is only time that suits each individual athlete. It is a very personal decision,” added the former no. 1 in the world” In a press conference at the 2021 ATP Finals, Djokovic paid tribute to Federer’s impact on tennis and expressed his desire to see the Swiss return on tour.
He said: “Obviously Roger is an icon of our sport and people all over the world love him. They love to watch him play, they love to see him around. He is very important to our sport on and off the court. So, for the sake of our sport, I sincerely hope we can see him play at least one more time.
I’m sure he doesn’t want to end his career like this. I think he’s definitely going to try to give one last push, one last try. I’m not sure what his injury to him is, and I know he’s been struggling with a knee for quite a few years. So yes, let’s see.”