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ROGER FEDERER

Federer in India hails new tennis league

World number two Roger Federer hailed the new International Premier Tennis League as "crazy but fun" after sauntering through his debut matches in New Delhi on Sunday.

Federer in India hails new tennis league
Roger Federer (in black) playing alongside Rohan Bopanna in doubles play on Sunday. Photo: Sajjas Hussain/AFP

A laughing and joking Federer downed Czech world number seven Tomas Berdych in the new team competition's third leg in the Indian capital, where the Swiss veteran was playing for the first time.
   
The normally composed and focused Federer was clearly enjoying himself during his three matches in front of Indian fans including Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and cricketing great Sunil Gavaskar.
   
After winning his doubles and mixed doubles matches with Indian teammates Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna, Federer celebrated with a courtside dance, before teammate France's Gael Monfils joined in.
   
"It's crazy but it's good fun. I definitely think there's a place for this," Federer said, adding, "It's competitive, it's serious but it's still light-hearted."
   
Federer's Indian Aces defeated the Singapore Slammers 26 points to 16 in the competition which has a quickfire format, including one-set matches hurried along by a 20-second serve clock.
   
Federer, who has never played in India before, said the experience "was big, it was loud, it was different".
   
Federer said he was unsure how much extra tennis he would play next year, and would make a decision on his schedule after the Australian Open in January.
   
"I gotta be careful not to overplay, clearly,"  the 33-year-old said courtside. 

"I gotta still decide on Davis Cup, what I'm going to do there," he said.

"But I'll have a look after the Australian Open," said Federer, who holds a record 17 Gram Slam titles.

"That's when I will decide how much I'm going to play next season," he said.   

"I'm going to play a full schedule like normal but the question is how much more will I add or not."
   
Federer is expected to take on Novak Djokovic on Monday night in Delhi for his Indian Aces team before the competition moves on to the final leg in Dubai.

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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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