Many tennis pundits are claiming that today might have been the last time that we saw Roger Federer competing at the Melbourne Park. However, the Swiss legend has revealed that he hopes to play at the Australian Open 2021.
A resilient Roger Federer lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets (7-6, 6-4, 6-3) in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. Despite being struck by a nagging groin injury, the Swiss legend chose to give his opponent a match and not retire.
Post-match, Federer revealed that he has no plans to retire. In fact, he hopes to get back in Australia next year to add the grand slam for the seventh time in his cabinet.
What Did Roger Federer Say?
Federer was asked about the chances of him being seen at next year’s Australian Open. While his answer did not provide any clarity, it did allow for a ray of hope for fans of the Swiss maestro –
“No idea. Same as last year (chances of playing at Australian Open next year). You never know what the future holds. Especially my age, you don’t know. I’m confident. I’m happy how I’m feeling, to be honest. I got through a good, nice training block. No plans to retire. From that standpoint, we’ll see how the year goes, how everything is with the family. We’ll go from there. Of course, I hope to be back.”
Roger Federer was seen around Melbourne with tapes on his upper right leg. In fact, there were rumours that he might pull out of the mega showdown. However, the Swiss star showed up.
He didn’t just show up, he put up a fight. In fact, in the first set, it seemed like we might actually see a pretty close match. However, Novak was just too good for Federer in the next two sets.
Do you think we will see Roger Federer at the Australian Open 2021?
Australian Open 2020: I had a three per cent chance of winning against Novak Djokovic – Roger Federer
A hurting Roger Federer admitted he felt he had little chance of beating Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open.
Roger Federer felt he had just a “three per cent chance” of winning going into his Australian Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic after battling injury.
The Swiss great made a strong start before falling to a 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 6-3 loss to Djokovic, who reached a record eighth final in Melbourne on Thursday.
Federer battled a groin injury during an incredible quarter-final win over Tennys Sandgren and took a medical timeout after the first set of his loss to Djokovic.
The 20-time grand slam champion admitted he felt his chances of victory over Djokovic, who has won 27 of their 50 meetings, were slim.
“Look, overall, at the end of the day I guess I’m very happy. I’ve got to be happy with what I achieved,” Federer told a news conference.
“It was the maximum to go to get at this tournament, especially after the [John] Millman and the Sandgren match.
“Today was horrible, to go through what I did. Nice entrance, nice send off, and in between is one to forget because you know you have a three per cent chance to win. You know, got to go for it. You never know.
“But once you can see it coming, that it’s not going to work anymore, it’s tough. No, look, at the end of the day I’m very happy.
“I think I overall played all right. I know I can play better. At the same time, I also know I can play much worse. With no tournaments beforehand, I think it’s a very, very good result.”
U-N-S-T-O-P-P-A-B-L-E @DjokerNole def. Roger Federer for the 27th time 7-6(1) 6-4 6-3 to earn the chance to play for his th #AusOpen title #AO2020 pic.twitter.com/Hy7lu8AIHo
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 30, 2020
Federer was optimistic over the injury, saying he wanted to play in a scheduled exhibition match against Rafael Nadal in South Africa on February 7.
A six-time champion in Melbourne, Federer, 38, was unsurprisingly unwilling to guarantee he would be back at the Australian Open, but he was hopeful.
“No idea. Same as last year. You never know what the future holds,” he said.
“But especially my age, you don’t know. I’m confident. I’m happy how I’m feeling, to be honest. I got through a good, nice training block. No plans to retire.
“From that standpoint, we’ll see how the year goes, how everything is with the family. We’ll go from there. Of course, I hope to be back.”
