Australian Open – Roger Federer is set to miss Australian Open: Roger Federer is set to miss next year’s Australian Open and is unlikely to return to competition till mid-2022, says Swiss Media. According to his coach Ivan Ljubicic, the 20-times Grand Slam champion, however, is still determined to make a return. Federer has been inactive since losing in the Wimbledon quarter-finals in July and undergoing another round of knee surgery. For more sports news and Tennis updates, follow us at Insidesport.in
Asked whether Federer would be back in action for the first major of the year in January, former world number three Ivan Ljubicic said the signs were not promising. “I think there are very few chances, he is still recovering and knowing him, he wants to be sure he can play to win the tournament and be at 100%,” the Croatian told Stats Perform.
Australian Open 2022: Roger Federer set to miss Australian Open; unlikely to return until mid 2022
“So I think the Australian Open is not a real possibility right now. But he will go step by step because he is 40 years old now and he needs to be patient. He cannot recover as quickly as he used to.” Federer is tied with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the race to be the most successful men’s singles Grand Slam champion of all time and Australian Open organisers would have been hoping to have all three at Melbourne Park.
Roger Federer himself confirmed that he won’t be playing in the Australian Open next year. “I will be able to resume running quietly in January and resume sessions on the court with complex support in March or April. I would be incredibly surprised if I would be playing again already in Wimbledon. This summer it was decided to suture the lesion to my meniscus, which involves some downtime,” Lematin.ch quoted Federer as saying.
“My ambition is to see what I’m capable of one last time. I also wish I could say goodbye in my own way and on a tennis court. That’s why I give my all in my rehabilitation,” he added.
Australian Open 2022: Roger Federer set to miss Australian Open; unlikely to return until mid 2022
Australian Open- Roger Federer is likely to miss Australian Open: Nadal, who has had injury issues of his own, has said he will be there, but Djokovic has declined to confirm his presence until Tennis Australia reveals the health protocols for the tournament. The Serbian world number one has not confirmed whether he has been vaccinated against COVID-19, a pre-requisite for entering Australia under current rules.
The Australian government has said it will admit unvaccinated players as long as they are prepared to undergo 14 days of quarantine and the state of Victoria requests an exemption. Victoria’s Premier Dan Andrews has made it clear the state will not request exemptions for unvaccinated players. Tennis Australia has said repeatedly that negotiations with government over the issue are ongoing.
No signs of retirement from Federer yet: Coach Ivan Ljubicic said he was certain that Federer was not thinking about hanging up his racket just yet. “We have spoken and I can guarantee he wants to return to playing tennis,” coach Ivan Ljubicic added. “When he decides to stop he will retire, but I don’t think it’s going to happen all of a sudden.”
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