19-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has finally shown signs that he is human after all. The Swiss legend seemed to have let out his worst fears for the 2018 season and all those apprehensions are regarding the imminent return of former World No. 1s Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.
World No. 2 Federer’s remarkable comeback was indeed the story of 2017 in the tennis lexicon. The fans, the pundits and even former players were left speechless whenever the Basel native unleashed his wizardry on the court. It looked like as if a player was reborn as he simply had the measure of almost everything, not even his arch-rival Rafael Nadal was spared. Federer went 18-1 at the Grand Slams, won a tour-best seven titles and ended the year with a stunning 52-5 win/loss record on the ATP tour.
The 36-year-old knows that repeating the same set of feats will be almost impossible and that’s why he is setting realistic goals for the 2018 season. The 8-time Wimbledon champion is also mindful of the fact that the respective comebacks of Djokovic, Murray and Stan Wawrinka will have a positive impact on the men’s game, but will make the circuit much more challenging for him.
In an interview to SRF Sport, Federer spoke about the tricky issue of his retirement.
“In 10 years I’m probably no longer there, but hopefully still a few years, who knows.”
Regarding his expectations for 2018, Roger said: “It will not be that good anymore, I probably will not experience these emotions of 2017 any more. But I was always able to surprise myself over all these years, so I secretly hope that I will experience good moments again. “
Federer acknowledged that Djokovic, Murray and Wawrinka’s will make the sport tougher and far more challenging: “I wonder how Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka, Nishikori and Raonic will come back. That will have an impact. I’m assuming that one of those players will also tear up ropes. As a result, you also lose a game more and will thus also win one or two tournaments less. “
