Immersed in a delicate rehabilitation of his right knee, Roger Federer is confident of a return to competition in "the summer (boreal) of 2022", thus ruling out participating in the Australian Open, according to the Swiss in an interview in the Geneva Tribune and in the newspaper 24 Hours.
"The truth is that I would be incredibly surprised if I played Wimbledon, in other words, Australia do not even take it into account", confessed the Swiss tennis icon, who turned 40 in August.
Dropped to 16th place in the ATP ranking on Monday, Federer, who has only played 13 games this year after an interruption related to a double operation on his right knee, estimates his "return to competition for summer 2022", but warn that "the next four or five months will be decisive".
Weighed down by pain during the grass season, he was eliminated in the Wimbledon quarter-finals and was later declared out of action for the Tokyo Games, again undergoing two surgeries for "suture" your right medial meniscus and then "treat (your) cartilage".
"In any case, I had to undergo this operation for my long-term well-being (…) in order to be able to ski with my children, play soccer or tennis with my friends for decades to come. My first motivation was to get in shape for my life as a man"explained the Basel tennis player.
Federer will not be able "start running again calmly" until January, before starting in March-April "a tennis-like workout". "I want to see one last time what I am capable of as a professional tennis player".
"We all wish I could say goodbye in my own way and on a tennis court", said the winner of 20 Grand Slam tournaments.
"Although I know perfectly well that the end is near, I want to try to play some great games", Federer sentenced.
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