Despite speculation that Roger Federer will ever play in Australia again, Tennis Australia chief Craig Tiley hopes the six-times Australian Open champion will make it back for 2022.
Federer, who turns 40 next year, withdrew from the 2021 event overnight from his Dubai training base, citing he needed more time to recover from double knee surgery.
“In the end Roger ran out of time to get himself ready for the rigours of a Grand Slam and he’s very disappointed he won’t be coming to Melbourne in 2021,” Tiley told Australian media today.
“The Australian Open has always held a special place in his heart – remember it was Roger who first called the AO the ‘happy slam’. “We wish him all the best as he prepares for his comeback later in the year and look forward to seeing him in Melbourne in 2022.”
“We wish him all the best as he prepares for his comeback later in the year and look forward to seeing him in Melbourne in 2022.
The move will certainly give Federer more time to prepare for possibly Paris, and the clay warm-up events closer to home in Europe but certainly for Wimbledon, but many are now predicting 2021 could see the retirement of one of tennis’s all-time greats.
