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LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 14: Roger Federer of Switzerland and Novak Djokovic of Serbia embrace at the net after their singles match during Day Five of the Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 Arena on November 14, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)
via Getty
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 14: Roger Federer of Switzerland and Novak Djokovic of Serbia embrace at the net after their singles match during Day Five of the Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 Arena on November 14, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)
Ever since Roger Federer made it official that he won’t be participating at the 2022 Australian Open next year and even created a cloud of doubts regarding 2022 Wimbledon, fans reacted as they are hoping to see Federer one last time enjoying a farewell tour. Recently, rival and peer Novak Djokovic joined tennis fans across the globe hoping for the Swiss Maestron’s comeback.
Novak Djokovic sheds light on importance of having Roger Federer on tour
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Talking post his victory against Andrey Rublev in the group stage match at ATP Finals, the Serbian star was asked about his thoughts regarding Federer’s comeback.
“Obviously, Roger is an icon of our sport and people around the world love him. They love watching him play. They love seeing him around. He’s very important for our sport on and off the court. So, for the sake of our sport, I sincerely hope that we can see him play at-least another time”.
Some very strong words from Djokovic on Federer. https://t.co/MyWVAgvtS8
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) November 17, 2021
Also, Djokovic was hopeful that his long-time rival doesn’t want his career to end due to an injury.
“I’m sure that he doesn’t want to end his career this way.I think he’s going to definitely try to give it one last push. For everything that he has achieved and created for this sport, he deserves to play and he deserves to have a proper farewell”, concluded the world no.1.
Federer didn’t give much hope to fans regarding 2022 Wimbledon comeback
While the chance of Federer making it to another Wimbledon event seems highly unlikely at the moment(from his own words), it might not be a surprise if the Swiss star decides to have one last run on his favorite Grand Slam event.
via Getty
Novak Djokovic of Serbia shakes hands with Roger Federer of Switzerland at the net following victory in his Men’s Singles final during Day thirteen of The Championships – Wimbledon 2019 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
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However, Federer’s comeback relies on how fast his body recovers and how confident he appears ahead of grass-court season next year. Because, the Swiss would have been clear in his head that if he couldn’t make it deep into a slam, fans are surely going to be disappointed.
«But I understand the fans' feelings. It would be easy for me to say, "I've given a lot and received a lot. Let's stop here." But me investing everything to come back is also my way of saying thank you. My fans deserve better than the image of my last grass season.» (11/12)
— Simon Graf (@SimonGraf1) November 17, 2021
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Having said that, the former world no.1 is in no mood to push his body as he realized that his family time is more important to him than having to appear in a major final. Looking at Federer’s comments, it’s safe to assume that he won’t be making a comeback on the ATP tour till the first half of 2022 season.
Also read: “They Deserve Better”: Roger Federer Makes Honest Admission About Not Retiring From Tennis
