Roger Federer will deal with a “reality check” when he returns to the Tour after a lengthy injury break, seven-time major champ Mats Wilander said.Federer, 40, informed Swiss media last week that he was not likely to return to competitors until mid-2022 as he looks to get back to full fitness after multiple knee surgical treatments and would be “incredibly surprised” if he was able to play at Wimbledon.Federer, who is connected with Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic on 20 Grand Slam singles titles, stated he would be able to resume running in January and return to on-court training in March or April.” Federer had 2 knee operations in 2020 that kept him out of the Tour for more than a year and returned to action in March but managed to play just 13 matches this year.Another injury at Wimbledon required Federer, who won his last significant at the 2018 Australian Open, to skip the U.S. Open as he went under the knife again.” I do not think that Roger Federer will play too numerous matches on Tour,” Wilander said.
Roger Federer will deal with a “reality check” when he goes back to the Tour after a prolonged injury break, seven-time major champion Mats Wilander said.Federer, 40, informed Swiss media last week that he was unlikely to return to competition till mid-2022 as he aims to get back to full fitness after several knee surgical treatments and would be “incredibly stunned” if he had the ability to dip into Wimbledon.Federer, who is tied with Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic on 20 Grand Slam songs titles, said he would be able to resume running in January and return to on-court training in March or April.” I think its possible for him to come back,” Wilander told Eurosport. “I believe if he keeps stating it himself, he certainly has his mind set on returning.” I think the bigger issue to me is that these people are getting truly, truly excellent. (Alexander) Zverev and (Daniil) Medvedev are the guys pressing behind, they are playing huge video games of tennis. “And of course, Federer has his serve but how big a weapon is a Roger Federer serve compared to lets say a Zverev or Medvedev serve? I think thats going to be the truth check.” Federer had 2 knee operations in 2020 that kept him out of the Tour for more than a year and went back to action in March but handled to play just 13 matches this year.Another injury at Wimbledon required Federer, who won his last major at the 2018 Australian Open, to avoid the U.S. Open as he went under the knife once again.” I dont think that Roger Federer will play a lot of matches on Tour,” Wilander said. “He understands that he does still have an opportunity to win – maybe not a Grand Slam, maybe not a last – but 3 or four matches. I believe its worth it for him to come back in his own mind.” I dont believe he will understand till he steps on court for a minimum of a two- or three-set match versus the similarity Zverev and Medvedev.” (Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; modifying by Peter Rutherford).
Source link.
