In a startling revelation, 19-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has said that he had serious doubts about his return from injury at the start of 2017.
Federer, the World No. 2 had a torrid 2016 season after suffering from a knee injury while running a bath for his twin daughters in Melbourne. The knee continued to trouble him until he decided to end his season after suffering a shock loss to Milos Raonic in the Wimbledon semifinals.
The Swiss superstar then underwent a knee surgery to fix the issue before making his grand comeback by winning the Australian Open in 2017, his first official ATP tournament after nearly six months. And the 36-year-old recently disclosed that he wasn’t sure how his knee would react after surgery. In fact, scary thoughts were hovering in his mind that he may never be able to play tennis again.
However, all those questions were answered quite immediately as he went on to have one of the best seasons of his career. He won a tour-best seven titles, including a fifth Australian Open title and a record breaking 8th Wimbledon crown in 2017.
Federer said: “I knew my knee would never be the same, and I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to come back from that.”
“Entering the Australian Open, I knew that even if I lost in the first round, and left healthy, that was a win for me. Right when it became most important I played my best tennis. I was just confident again. I think I was able to ride the wave.”
“Once Wimbledon came around, I was just trying to make the most of the moment, because how many more chances was I gonna have? To play in the inaugural Laver Cup, it’s so important to show respect towards all the legends.”
“Winning all these titles in 2017, this season has been more thrilling than I ever imagined. It was totally like a fairy tale.”
