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ROGER FEDERER

Federer and Wawrinka ‘bury the hatchet’ online

Switzerland's top tennis stars Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka took to Twitter on Tuesday in a bid to bury the appearance of any lingering resentments from their bad-tempered London match ahead of the Davis Cup final against France later this week.

Federer and Wawrinka 'bury the hatchet' online
Photo: Roger Federer/Twitter

"It's great being with the boys again," tweeted Federer, above a Swiss team picture including himself and Wawrinka with arms around each other.

In the shot, world number four Wawrinka makes playful 'bunny ears' behind his team-mate's head.

That frivolity seemed light years from the fallout between the two countrymen as Federer defeated Wawrinka in three gruelling sets 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8/6) on Saturday evening in the ATP World Tour Finals semi-finals.

Federer had saved three match points in the tenth game of the deciding set in that match and it was poised at 5-5 and 40-40 in game 11 when Warwinka gestured to Federer's box asking that they not make noise in between serves.

Federer's wife Mirka was sitting in the players section and Federer was reportedly upset that Wawrinka had blamed her.

The two were then seen involved in a long and tense discussion in the locker-room after the match and on Monday each went their own way en route from London to Lille in northern France for the Davis Cup showdown.

As it turned out Federer was unable to play in Sunday's final in London as he was laid low with back spasms, casting doubts on his ability to play against the French and win the Davis Cup for the first time in his distinguished career.

Federer said on Tuesday he was "hopeful" of being able to represent Switzerland on Friday.

"I am not good enough to practice yet and I wish my progress would be faster," the 17-time Grand Slam winner told a press conference at the Stade Pierre Mauroy outside Lille, which will host the three-day Davis Cup final.
   
"It's a little bit better than on Saturday, Sunday, Monday so I am hopeful."

"The world number two said that the Swiss team's medical staff had been working hard on his fitness and that the pain he had felt on Saturday was easing.
   
Asked if he was worried about missing the chance to win the Davis Cup final for the first time in his career, he replied: "I don't know — I'm a positive kind of person so I have to believe in it."

Sunday's withdrawal was only the third walkover of Federer's career and he has never abandoned a game during play.

Widely regarded as being the finest tennis player of all time, Federer has won all there is to win at the top in tennis apart from Olympic singles gold and the Davis Cup.

His greatest rival Rafael Nadal on the other hand has the full set of all four Grand Slam titles, Olympic singles gold and the Davis Cup.

Federer has blown hot and cold on the Davis Cup over the course of his long career, but with Wawrinka, this year's Australian Open champion, finally emerging as a player of the highest-class, a Davis Cup win has been a priority for him.

The London dogfight between the Swiss, the intensity of which astonished many people in France, has cast a cloud over those hopes.

In stark contrast it has been all plain sailing for the French who are seeking a 10th Davis Cup title in all and a first since 2001.

Captain Arnaud Clement cloistered his team of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Richard Gasquet and reserve Gilles Simon, none of whom qualified for the London finals, in Bordeaux where they honed their claycourt skills away from prying eyes.

The French as hosts have chosen an indoor claycourt as the surface for the final believing that gives them a better chance of defeating the two higher-ranked Swiss players.

Doubles specialist Julien Benneteau, who was playing in the doubles in London, then linked up with them after they decamped to Lille.

It's great being with the boys again .. And #captain #lüthi pic.twitter.com/iMWJUVKd0T

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) November 17, 2014

Roger Federer's wife really upset Wawrinka by beINSPORTS

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ROGER FEDERER

Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?

Roger Federer is talking optimistically about returning to his "highest level" after knee surgery, but does tennis have to start adjusting to a future without the Swiss star?

Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?
Is it the end of the line for Roger? Photo: Martin BUREAU / AFP

The 20-time Grand Slam winner announced on Wednesday that he would be sidelined until 2021 after his second operation in a matter of months.

Federer remains upbeat, tweeting: “I plan to take the necessary time to be 100 percent ready to play at my highest level.”

In some ways 2020 is a good season to miss after the coronavirus ravaged the tennis schedule. Writing Federer off in the past has proved dangerous.

He returned from a six-month injury lay-off to claim the Australian Open in 2017, winning his eighth Wimbledon crown later that year.

But he will be 40 in 2021 and is now heading into uncharted territory.

Despite his groaning trophy cabinet, there are two factors that will motivate Federer to keep going — the risk of losing his grip on the men's Grand Slam title record and a missing Olympics singles gold medal.

Rafael Nadal has 19 majors, just one shy of Federer's mark and Djokovic has 17.

Spain's Nadal will be fancied to draw level with Federer at the French Open, rescheduled for September, while few would bet against Djokovic winning in New York weeks earlier.

In April, Federer said he was “devastated” when Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since World War II. Last year he fell agonisingly short at the All England Club, failing to convert two championship points on his own serve against Djokovic.

The Wimbledon grass probably remains his best chance of adding to his Grand Slam collection — he has not won the US Open since 2008 and his only title at Roland Garros came in 2009.

Even though Federer has slipped from the very pinnacle of the game, he is still a major threat to Nadal and Djokovic.

'Golden' ambitions

Last year, the world number four had a 53-10 win-loss record and he reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January in his only tournament this year.

Federer, who is still six ATP titles short of Jimmy Connors' all-time record of 109, has one glaring omission from his CV — the Olympic title.

The Swiss won doubles gold in Beijing in 2008 with compatriot Stan Wawrinka but lost in the singles final to Andy Murray in London four years later.

The postponed Tokyo Games will almost certainly be Federer's last opportunity to complete a career “golden” Grand Slam — he will turn 40 on the day of the closing ceremony next year.

Tennis will feel the loss of the elegant Federer keenly when he walks off the court for the last time.

Djokovic and Nadal have been the dominant forces in recent years but the Swiss remains the biggest draw and last month topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-earning athletes.

His last appearance on court was in front of nearly 52,000 fans — touted by organisers as a world record for tennis — at a charity match against Nadal in Cape Town in February.

Federer is nearly always the crowd favourite wherever he plays and has proved a perfect ambassador for the sport since he won his first Grand Slam title in 2003.

He certainly expects to be back and competitive next year.

“I will be missing my fans and the tour dearly but I will look forward to seeing everyone back on tour at the start of the 2021 season,” he tweeted.

The avalanche of support from his adoring fans showed they would miss him too, but they will have to get used to a time when he is gone for good.

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