The Big Three is limping. Some more than others. Novak Djokovic, number one, He is still the one who has the best perspective, because life looks different when you have won the three Grand Slams disputed this year, even if you later skated in the Golden Slam project with an unhinged shutdown at the Tokyo Games. The Serbian is recovering today from the physical and mental exhaustion of the season with the goal set on the US Open. Let's see how it arrives. Worse, much worse, Rafa Nadal has it, who has only been able to play two games in his summer comeback and who has had to give up the two Masters 1,000 in August due to a foot injury, which leads to think that his presence in New York is also in danger or that, in the optimistic assumption, it will land with doubts and without running in.
And then there is Roger Federer, a case apart. The Swiss genius, who on August 8 blew 40 candles, announced on Sunday that he will go under the knife again to have surgery on your right knee, which will have “many weeks on crutches” and “several months out of competition.” His return in 2021, after more than a year on sick leave for two other surgeries, has been quite unfortunate. He has only been able to play 13 games, with a balance of nine wins and four losses, and a better result of quarter-finals at Wimbledon, the tournament where he turned all his bet. Federer knows that a new operation and a new return are increasingly complicated at his advanced age, and he also recognized it in the audiovisual statement he launched with the news: “I'm realist”. But Roger, who has been everything in tennis, wants to give himself another chance not to walk away feeling sour. His example is very reminiscent of Pau Gasol, which did not give up until he was able to return to the courts. “I want to give myself a ray of hope,” says Federer, in advance of your long goodbye.