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Tennis fans had the chance to see Roger Federer again, albeit in plain clothes, during the fourth edition of the Laver Cup. The Swiss phenomenon flew to Boston to support Team Europe, who easily won their fourth success in a row in the event.
. The former world number 1 does not take the field from Wimbledon, where he reached the quarter-finals before giving up clearly to Hubert Hurkacz. The former world number 1 was forced to undergo surgery for the third time on his right knee, a painful but necessary choice to try to get back in good shape in 2022.
At the moment there are no guarantees that King Roger will return to the tour, but the 20-time Grand Slam champion has never abandoned his proverbial optimism. Recall that the 40-year-old from Basel was able to play only 13 official matches in 2021, with an unsatisfactory balance of nine wins and four defeats.
In a long interview with 'GQ Magazine', the Swiss explained that he had to pay close attention to the signals that his physique sends him.
Federer opens up on his body
"I used to have a lot of back problems, but these kind of went away because I was able to fix those, you know, but then, naturally, you have other issues as they come about," Roger Federer explained.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion highlighted the fact that an older body needs more time to recover from minor problems, which limits the time on court. "I think the biggest difference for me that I feel is that when you are 20 and you have a back issue, a couple of good sleeps and it’s done, it’s gone.
Not so much now! Nowadays, the pain can last for days, weeks or longer. And this slows you down in terms of how many tournaments [you can play]. So as you get older you need to get stricter, I think, with what you can do, even in training.
Maybe you need to pick what you do: the jumps or the running, but not both at the same time as you once did. You need to listen to your body more, take notice of the signs," Federer continued. "Essentially, when you are 20 you just do everything all the time without having to think; at 40 you need to be smarter.
I actually enjoy strategising it all nowadays," Federer remarked. Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal are currently tied at 20 Grand Slam titles. At 40, Federer is the oldest player in the Open Era, with 20 major titles and the most Grand Slam finals, semi-finals, and quarter-finals among any male player. Truly, the Big Three have dominated throughout the Grand Slams in the last 18 years.