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Roger Federer experienced a nasty knee injury at the beginning of 2020. The Swiss underwent two surgeries in February and May and returned to action in March 2021. Roger competed in Doha and Geneva before entering Roland Garros, eager to test his body in the best-of-five encounters.
Federer found the rhythm in Paris and became the oldest player in the last 16 in the Open era. However, the Swiss decided to withdraw ahead of the Matteo Berrettini clash and focus on the upcoming grass swing. Many tennis fans were not pleased with Roger's move, while many colleagues defended his decision.
Daniil Medvedev was among them, repeating the importance of Wimbledon for Roger and making him one of the favorites in London. Also, the Russian stated that Koepfer did not deserve to play the next match, as he lost to Federer fair and square.
Federer took down Denis Istomin and Marin Cilic to make the third round and set the clash against Dominik Koepfer. Two rivals met on an empty Court Philippe-Chatrier during the night session, and Federer scored a thrilling 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 victory in three hours and 35 minutes.
Spending too much time on the court and stressing his knee, Roger decided to withdraw ahead of the fourth-round clash with Matteo Berrettini to preserve his body for the grass swing in Halle and Wimbledon.
Daniil Medvedev backed Roger Federer's decision to skip Roland Garros in 2021.
After not playing for 13 months, Federer was eager to preserve his knee and make a strong push in the upcoming weeks at his beloved tournaments.
With his knee bothering him again, Roger lost to Felix Auger-aliassime in the Halle second round, failing to reach the quarter-final at this event for the first time. Federer played better at Wimbledon and reached the quarter-final as the oldest player in the Open era.
However, Roger experienced a tough 6-3, 7-6 6-0 loss to Hubert Hurkacz, standing powerless in the third set and never competing in singles again. "We all know that a Major is still Roger's primary goal. He always thinks about winning Wimbledon, even when he is 50.
Roger will have a chance this year and wants to do his best to prepare. If Koepfer wanted to be in the next round, he had to beat Roger. It does not matter if he retires after. That's how tennis is; you need to beat your opponent to be in the next round.
So I do not see why Roger should be criticized. At the same time, I understand people who do it. Me, I will not criticize him," Daniil Medvedev said.