And so it was, Sunday at Roland Garros, that Federer reached the highly unusual decision to bow out of the French Open midway through the tournament after reaching the fourth round.
Two months shy of his 40th birthday, Federer is eyeing a different prize — a ninth Wimbledon championship that would deliver a 21st Grand Slam singles title, breaking the record 20 he shares with rival and friend Rafael Nadal. The two have served as each other’s benchmark for excellence throughout their careers on hard courts, clay and grass.
Federer had raised the prospect of withdrawing, depending how his knee and body felt, after wrapping up a grueling, four-set victory over Germany’s Dominik Koepfer. It was his debut in night match at Roland Garros and extended past midnight, contested over three hours, 35 minutes in front of empty grandstands because Parisians still observe a mandatory evening curfew.
Sunday afternoon, Paris time, Federer shared his decision with his 2.6 million social media followers via a statement posted on Twitter that read:
“After discussions with my team, I’ve decided I will need to pull out of Roland-Garros today. After two knee surgeries and over a year of rehabilitation it’s important that I listen to my body and make sure I don’t push myself too quickly on my road to recovery. I am thrilled to have gotten 3 matches under my belt. There is no greater feeling than being back on court.”
French Open tournament director Guy Forget issued his own statement of regret and well wishes on behalf of the event, which read:
“The Roland-Garros tournament is sorry about the withdrawal of Roger Federer, who put up an incredible fight last night. We were all delighted to see Roger back in Paris, where he played three high-level matches. We wish him all the best for the rest of the season.”
Tennis Channel analyst Jim Courier, who won two of his four career Grand Slams at the French Open (1991-92), called the withdrawal the “best possible scenario for Federer” on Sunday’s broadcast, noting that it gave him a chance to test his knee and overall readiness for best-of-five-set matches.
“I don’t think it could have been scripted any better,” Courier said.
Federer surpassed both his own and others’ expectations in reaching the French Open’s fourth round. The immediate beneficiary of his withdrawal is ninth-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini, who advanced on a walkover to a potential quarterfinal against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
Federer’s withdrawal reflects a trend of top-10 players prioritizing their health, both physical and mental, over the year-round grind of the pro tours with an eye toward extending their career and love of competition.
World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, 25, took a near two-year hiatus at age 18 after losing her joy amid the rigors of the pro calendar, which spans early January to late November.
Like Federer, Barty also chose not to return for what remained of the 2020 season, skipping last year’s U.S. and French opens, when tennis exited a five-month quarantine, prioritizing her safety and well-being.
In returning from two surgeries on his right knee, in February and June 2020, Federer has been candid about Wimbledon being the primary goal of his 2021 season.
This year, that pursuit is complicated by a scheduling quirk.
The turnaround between the French Open and Wimbledon is among the trickiest in sports, staged on radically different surfaces (clay and grass) that demand a period of adjustment in footwork, movement, ball-striking and strategy.
Typically, three weeks separate the end of the French and start of Wimbledon to aid in that adjustment and in physical recovery, given that both tournaments are best-of-five-sets matches in the men’s draw, rather than best-of-three.
This year, the French Open delayed its start one week, banking that the extra time as Europe emerges from the pandemic would make holding the two-week event safer. The upshot for players, however, is compressing the turnaround time for Wimbledon to two weeks.
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