Yes this is my way of paying homage to his AO win. Nobody will catch him for sure in that department, but the slams is not the reason for this post.
When he won Wimbledon in 2012. it was a given he'd stay until the 2016 Olympics then retire before 2020. Now that he's won again, will Federer adjust his schedule to Tokyo? Would we want to see a 38-39 year-old Federer there regardless of his form/ranking?
I think he is taking it day by day. I don't think he has decided to retire, but he will see how his body holds up. If more problems arise, then he will call it a day. If he can still practise and play without issues then, I am sure he has a couple of years left in him at top level. Tokyo is too far away though.
that is FAR away for a 35+yr old body, a lot can change. I'm not too concerned about the groin issue, I bet that is just a result of not playing so long and not being used to the movement. HOckey players get that all the time at the start the season after summer beak. However not convinced his back and/or knee won't give him more issues before that
He's three years out and has just won the latest grand slam. His last year doesn't have be very successful, more a lap of honour. Connors didn't retire till 1992. Federer can do 2020 easy, go to 40 if he feels like it and rack up an amazing amount of endorsements in the process. Retire on about 500m or more, and that's not bad for a pension.
If Nadal and Djokovic weren't chasing him on grand slams I think he may still be around but not near as motivated as he is, but they are, all three of them spurring each other on to greater heights, though they daren't admit it.
I think he keeps more than a cursory glance at the record books as well, his next appearance at a grand slam will see him tie Santoro for most grand slam appearances, and then one match win at Wimbledon will seem him with most wins at that tournament. He's 169 match wins away from Connors' overall match record, if he just sticks around a few more years there'll be not much left to break.
He should now more than ever after seeing how quickly he comes back from a break have routine breaks in the 4-6 wk range and not just because he needs to do it to recover from injuries but preventative i feel.
1. Maybe starting in 2018 no longer play on clay at all. Play something like aussie, dubai then either indian or miami masters. This is pretty much early march till mid june of a break for grass season.
2. play stuttgart, halle, wimbledon then i guess it is a 4 week break till hard courts.
3. Play cinci, us open. 4-6 week break
4. end the year with basel and wtf and have another 8 weeks off to end the season.
5. so 11 tournaments plus maybe 1 or 2 more here and there.
I say, sport medicine is better now than in the 70´s, maybe Federer can break Ken Rosewall record and still play pro until his 40´s, but I think this at least as motivation issue than it is physical, he now has a big family and his mind is set on his personal life, it depends how important tennis is in his life after playing so many times and winning so many things
Sport medicine and science are definitely better than in the 70s, but professional tennis matches are also a lot more competitive and much more physically demanding.
So not sure if advances in sports medicine, science and methodology are sufficient enough to cancel out the physical impacts of playing top level professional tennis continuously for 20 years.
Very hard to say, he's still injured. It's been over a month. The next time he gets an injury, it may take months to fully recover. It gets progressively more difficult as he reaches the later stages of his thirties.
People talk about medicine improving but it also improves for the young players as well - they get fewer injuries, they can train longer, do more effective exercises etc. It rarely results in careers being extended, in fact it normally results in the opposite because the importance of strength and speed is increased and the marginal advantages the younger players have become more important.
The reason Federer is still so close to the top of the game is two-fold. The first reason is that his game was never particularly about strength and power so as they diminish it doesn't effect his game as much as it would most players. Getting 10% weaker isn't that big a deal if strength was never a big part of your game. The second reason is that no especially good players have emerged since Murray.
As far as 2020 is concerned, why not? It depends if he gets injured or how players improve in the next 3 years, but I don't see him declining to the extent he would be unable to qualify. If he's not in a state where he feels he could win it maybe he won't waste his time with it though.
The truth is Federer has a lot of tools than any other player on tour. It means he could play many styles and he has proved it over the years. As he said long time ago once wheels go down players like Djokovic,Murray and Nadal would not be the same. Because they are not different than Hewitt . They are not aggressive players like Federer. They do not like to take a risk with their shots.
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