Roger Federer has decided not to participate in the Australian Open to continue recovering from their two operations on the right knee, as stated by his agent. Tony Godsick, representative of the Swiss and executive director of his management company, TEAM8, said this Sunday that is working to set up the schedule for the 20-time Grand Slams winner.
This decision ends Federer's streak of 21 consecutive appearances at Melbourne Park. A streak that began with his debut in 2000 and includes six titles.
“Roger has decided not to play the Australian Open in 2021. He has made a lot of progress in recent months with his knee and his fitness. However, After consulting with his team, he decided that the best thing for him in the long run is to return to competitive tennis after the Australian Open.Godsick said in a statement.
The delay
The start of the Australian Open main draw was delayed three weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic and is now scheduled to begin on February 8. Federer, 39, is in Dubai, his residence during the offseason, training to return to competition.
The decision to delay his return to the slopes It came after consulting with his coaches, Severin Luthi and Ivan Ljubicic, and the physical trainer, Pierre Paganini.
Federer have not played a tournament match since late January, at the 2020 Australian Open, where he was injured in the match against current champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. Shortly after, Federer took part in a charity exhibition with Rafael Nadal in front of a record crowd of more than 50,000 at a Cape Town soccer stadium.
Just a few weeks later Federer announced that he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and that he would be off the tracks for at least four months. Later he had a second intervention on that knee and ended up missing the rest of a season altered by the pandemic.