Federer in surgery shock
20-time grand slam champion casts doubt over future
Roger Federer will undergo a third knee surgery, the 20-time grand slam winner has announced, and now admits he has only a “glimmer of hope” of returning to the top of professional tennis.
The 40-year-old injured his knee at Wimbledon and now faces the prospect of “many weeks” on crutches and a prolonged period out of the sport.
Federer had been a doubt for the US Open later this month, but it is now the question of whether he will return at all that will occupy his mind.
“I just wanted to give you a bit of an update about what’s been going on since Wimbledon, as you can imagine it’s not been simple,” he said in a video posted online last night.
“I’ve been doing a lot of checks with the doctors on my knee, getting all the information as I hurt myself further during the grasscourt season in Wimbledon and it’s just not the way to go forward.
“Unfortunately for the medium to long term, to feel better I will need surgery so I decided to do it. I will be on crutches for many weeks and then also out of the game for many months.”
Two knee surgeries in 2020 required more than a year of rehabilitation and, while the extent of his injury is unclear, Federer admits age is not on his side.
“I want to give myself a glimmer of hope also to return to the tour in some shape or form,” he added.
“I am realistic, don’t get me wrong, I know how difficult it is at this age to do another surgery to try it but look, I want to be healthy.
“I will go through the rehab process with a goal, while I’m still
active, which I think is still going to help me through this long period of time – also a big thank you for all of your messages.”
While Rafael Nadal and, in particular, Novak Djokovic continue to compete, Federer’s latest setback brings with it the reality that a time is looming when a retirement from the “Big Four” will arrive.
For Andy Murray, the final member of the quartet and the one who has most struggled with injuries, it means he cannot look beyond the US Open, which starts on Aug 30.
“I think I need to set short-term goals. It is what’s really important just now because it’s been very difficult to plan medium and longerterm targets,” said Murray, who is preparing for a return to action at the Cincinnati Masters this week.
“Look at this week as a great opportunity for me to play on hard courts in conditions that I like against top players again.
“So short-term goals is to be on the practice court with these guys as much as I can, hopefully get the chance to play matches, like I said in these conditions and give all my energy and efforts to the US Open and assess where my game and my body is at the end of that.”