The odds of Roger Federer winning his 21st Grand Slam title at the age of 39 might be decreasing but one of his opponents believes he should never be ruled out.
Dominic Thiem has praised the Swiss maestro earlier this week whilst speaking to reporters ahead of the Italian Open. Federer has only played one tournament so far this year which was at the Qatar Open where he reached the semi-finals. It was his first taste of competitive tennis since undergoing two surgical procedures on his right knee. Since Doha, he has opted to take time away from the Tour and train ahead of his next event.
“I guess pretty much everybody is missing him when he’s not playing just because of his style, of the way he plays. I mean, in general he’s a great guy,” Thiem said. “It’s amazing to have him around.”
Federer is set to return to action next week at the Geneva Open in his home country before playing at the French Open. He has missed four out of the past five editions of Roland Garros and the only time he won the title was back in 2009. Nevertheless, Thiem says he is looking forward to seeing Federer back on the court over the summer.
“I’m also looking forward to French Open and Wimbledon to see him play again,” the world No.4 stated. “With him, you know, he’s just so good and has so unreal skills that I don’t think it’s that big of a problem if he’s not playing for that long. If he’s physically 100 percent, I guess that he can still go very deep in the tournament he participates.”
Despite being 12 years younger, Thiem has a strong head-to-head record against Federer after winning five out of their seven meetings on the Tour so far. His victories have taken place on the clay, grass and hard courts. Their last meeting was at the 2019 ATP Finals which the Austrian won in straight sets.
The coming weeks will be an indication of Federer’s current level as he aims to reach top form in time for Wimbledon where he is bidding to claim a record ninth title. As for his chances of success, Thiem doesn’t see a reason why he can’t win yet another major title despite his injury setback in 2020.
“I think so. Why not?” Thiem replied when asked if could go deep in a Grand Slam draw. “I think otherwise he wouldn’t be playing. He’s too good. He had I think too much success in the past also. I guess if he knows that he’s not playing for the big titles any more, he wouldn’t be playing. So I definitely expect him, especially in Wimbledon, that he can go very, very deep and also play for the title.”
The Geneva Open main draw will start on Monday. Federer will be the third seed in the draw.
