Roger Federer / Picture: USA TODAY Sports
How big or how small his glimmer of hope for his comeback is, perhaps only Roger Federer himself knows. The tennis world star looked a little emotionally attacked when he announced his next knee operation in a video on Instagram and also said this remarkable sentence: ” I want to give myself a hint of hope to get back on the tour. ” He is evidently aware that this severe setback could mean the end of his exceptional career.
In the one and a half minute message, Federer did not speak of the end of his career, but admitted: “I'm realistic, don't get me wrong, I know how difficult an operation is at this age.” Exactly one week after he had received numerous good wishes on his 40th birthday, Federer had to report on his next long forced break on Sunday evening. “I will be on crutches for several weeks and be 'out of the game' for several months,” the Swiss made clear.
His knee has deteriorated in the grass season and at Wimbledon. After various examinations, it became clear to him that it would not work without an operation. The 20-time Grand Slam tournament winner did not say which injury it is exactly. He wanted to get well, he wanted to be able to walk around later. And he wants to approach rehab with the goal of continuing to be active on the tour, he added.
Of course, Federer is not only missing the US Open, which starts on August 30th in New York. The rest of the 2021 season should also be over for him, that much seems clear. But will the long-standing number one in the world even become competitive again? To an extent worthy of a star in its class? When is a return conceivable? Or was that it now? The doubts as to whether Federer will make it back to the top of the world are growing bigger and bigger. Apparently, however, the Swiss wants to torture himself again. It shouldn't hurt him to dictate when to stop.
It is becoming more and more clear, however, that Federer is likely to be denied a grand finale to his brilliant tennis decades. He may have lost his last chance for a Grand Slam title in 2019 when he missed two match points against Novak Djokovic in the longest final in Wimbledon's history. Federer focused everything on his favorite tournament this season after making his comeback in March after more than a year. He had two knee operations in 2020.
Federer only played 13 games this year. Most recently, he failed in a sobering way in the Wimbledon quarter-finals. At least since the 0: 6 in the third set against the Pole Hubert Hurkacz it was clear that Federer was going through a difficult phase. Then the father of four had to let everything sink in first. He canceled the Tokyo Olympics. He did without the start of the hard court season in North America.
The Spanish top star Rafael Nadal is currently injured. And Djokovic is also taking a break. The Serbian world number one has already announced that he will attack the gold medal again at the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 and will focus on the upcoming US Open. Even in New York, Djokovic could leave his rivals Nadal and Federer behind with the number 21 Grand Slam title.
Federer's goal should be to determine for himself when he wants to close his tennis chapter. A long time ago he once said that he didn't have to stop being cheesy. But it shouldn't end with an injury. But even his biggest fans shouldn't have more than a tiny glimmer of hope for such a miraculous comeback as 2017. At that time, Federer surprisingly won the Australian Open – and Wimbledon.
