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'Let’s get through Wimbledon and then decide where we go': Federer yet to take decision on Tokyo Olympics participation
Roger Federer disclosed that the upcoming fortnight, as Wimbledon begins on Monday, will determine the course of action for the next couple of months.
Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has revealed his plans on participating at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, saying on Saturday that he and his team will “reassess the situation after Wimbledon.”
While speaking at the All England Club during the press conference, the Swiss maestro disclosed that the upcoming fortnight, as Wimbledon begins on Monday, will determine the course of action for the next couple of months.
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“Obviously, if I play really good here or really bad, I think it has an impact on how everything might look for the summer,” he said. “Still, my feeling is I would like to go to the Olympics. I would like to play as many tournaments as possible. But I think we decided now let’s just get through Wimbledon, sit down as a team, and then decide where we go from there.”
The postponed Tokyo Games, which were originally slated to take place in 2020, will now begin on July 23, just 12 days after the culmination of Wimbledon. Federer has won Olympic medals for Switzerland: a silver in singles at the 2012 London Games, which held the tennis competition at the All England Club, and a gold in doubles with Stan Wawrinka at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Thirty-nine-year-old Federer missed the 2016 Rio Olympics due to an injury in the left knee and should he miss the upcoming Games, he will join Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem in the list of star men's tennis players set to miss the event.
He missed most of last season while having two operations on his right knee and heads into Wimbledon, where he has won eight championships, having played a total of merely eight matches in 2021.
His 40th birthday is approaching on Aug. 8, and Federer said that changes the calculus when it comes to figuring out a schedule, too.
“In previous years, it was definitely easier,” Federer said. “At the moment, things are not as simple as in the past. With age, you have to be more selective. You can’t play it all.”
(With inputs from AP)
