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SYDNEY: Roger Federer likely won’t play at next year’s Australian Open, but is still determined to return to tournament tennis at some point, according to his coach Ivan Ljubicic.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion has been inactive since his defeat in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in July and yet another knee surgery.
Asked if Federer will be back in action for the first major tournament of the year in January, former world number three Ljubicic said the signs were not promising.
“I think there are very few chances, he’s still recovering and knowing him, he wants to be sure he can play to win the tournament and be 100%,” the Croatian told Stats Perform.
“So I think the Australian Open is not a real possibility at the moment. But he will take it step by step because he is now 40 years old and he has to be patient. He cannot recover as quickly as he used to be. . ”
Federer is tied with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the race to become the most successful men’s Grand Slam champion of all time and the organizers of the Australian Open would have hoped to have them all three at Melbourne Park.
Nadal, who has had injury issues himself, has said he will be there, but Djokovic has declined to confirm his attendance until Tennis Australia reveals the tournament’s health protocols.
The Serbian world number one has not confirmed whether he has been vaccinated against COVID-19, a prerequisite for entering Australia under current rules.
The Australian government has said it will admit unvaccinated players as long as they are ready to undergo 14 days of quarantine and the state of Victoria seeks an exemption.
Victoria Premier Dan Andrews has made it clear the state will not seek exemptions for unvaccinated gamers. Tennis Australia has repeatedly stated that negotiations with the government on the matter are ongoing.
Ljubicic said he’s sure Federer isn’t thinking about hanging up his racket yet.
“We have spoken and I can guarantee that he wants to start playing tennis again,” he added. “When he decides to quit he will retire, but I don’t think that’s going to happen all of a sudden.”
The 20-time Grand Slam champion has been inactive since his defeat in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in July and yet another knee surgery.
Asked if Federer will be back in action for the first major tournament of the year in January, former world number three Ljubicic said the signs were not promising.
“I think there are very few chances, he’s still recovering and knowing him, he wants to be sure he can play to win the tournament and be 100%,” the Croatian told Stats Perform.
“So I think the Australian Open is not a real possibility at the moment. But he will take it step by step because he is now 40 years old and he has to be patient. He cannot recover as quickly as he used to be. . ”
Federer is tied with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the race to become the most successful men’s Grand Slam champion of all time and the organizers of the Australian Open would have hoped to have them all three at Melbourne Park.
Nadal, who has had injury issues himself, has said he will be there, but Djokovic has declined to confirm his attendance until Tennis Australia reveals the tournament’s health protocols.
The Serbian world number one has not confirmed whether he has been vaccinated against COVID-19, a prerequisite for entering Australia under current rules.
The Australian government has said it will admit unvaccinated players as long as they are ready to undergo 14 days of quarantine and the state of Victoria seeks an exemption.
Victoria Premier Dan Andrews has made it clear the state will not seek exemptions for unvaccinated gamers. Tennis Australia has repeatedly stated that negotiations with the government on the matter are ongoing.
Ljubicic said he’s sure Federer isn’t thinking about hanging up his racket yet.
“We have spoken and I can guarantee that he wants to start playing tennis again,” he added. “When he decides to quit he will retire, but I don’t think that’s going to happen all of a sudden.”
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