Tennis great Roger Federer had a challenging 2020 that has seeped over into his 2021. After a pair of knee surgeries, Federer — who turned 40 earlier in August — has only competed in 13 matches this year and has withdrawn from several tournaments to rest, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Now, with the US Open looming, the matter of whether or not Federer will be ready to compete in New York is being closely monitored. Speaking on the matter, Federer let on that his status for the Open remains up in the air as he prepares to meet with his doctors and team.
“For now, everything is still a bit uncertain,” Federer told the AFP. “It was different before (my injury). The questions were simple: what is my place in the ranking? What will my next tournament be? Today, it’s more difficult: how do I feel when I start training again? What are my goals? How to reconcile all this with the family? What does the rest of the team say?
“I am much more enthusiastic than before, the attitude is different. It’s really completely different from 10 years ago.”
Federer’s last action came at Wimbledon in June, where he became the oldest man to ever reach the quarterfinals. He eventually lost to Hubert Hurkacz.
Since then, Federer has withdrawn from not only the Olympics, but also the ATP Toronto and the Cincinnati Masters.
Should he be physically ready to compete in the US Open, Federer will have a chance to move out of a Grand Slam tiebreaker with contemporaries Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, all of whom have won 20 titles over the course of their careers. Should either of the three win the US Open, they will take sole possession of the Grand Slam record entering 2022.
