Roger Federer will not participate in the Australian Open 2022 and his presence at Wimbledon is also uncertain. After undergoing knee surgery for the third time in the last 18 months, the Swiss phenomenon has recently returned to the gym and he has started running again.
The former world number 1 played just 13 official matches in 2021, racking up nine wins and four losses. The round of 16 at Roland Garros and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon were his best seasonal results, a far too meager booty for a legend of his caliber.
As if that weren’t enough, the King had to say goodbye to the Top 10 for the first time since 2017. Between 2020 and 2021, the 40-year-old from Basel was hooked by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the all-time Grand Slam rankings.
The Serbian also snatched the record from him for the most weeks at the top of the ATP ranking. In a recent interview with Sky Sports, David Ferrer analyzed the situation of each of the Big 3.
Federer has fans all over the world in the millions
“The problem for Roger Federer is that he won’t play Australia,” Ferrer said.
“And there are serious doubts about whether he will play at Wimbledon.” The Spaniard explained that it was impossible for anyone to measure up to three of the greatest players to have ever played the game. But he noted that Next Gen players are getting better every year.
“We cannot compare this generation with Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic because that’s impossible. They’re the best three players in history,” Ferrer said. “But the Next Gen are improving every year.
For me Zverev, Medvedev and Tsitsipas – they are there,” Ferrer said. “Carlos Alcarez is 18, but he’s improving a lot and he’s the future. The most important thing is that he is humble and he listens.”
Undoubtedly, Federer has fans all over the world in the millions. However, it is not just tennis viewers who are fans of Roger and feel inspired by him. In fact, many players on the circuit, especially the younger ones, too, are his fans.
Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov is one of the many players who has now shared Roger Federer as his inspiration to play tennis. Many fans came with their questions, from Denis’ opinions on pineapple pizza to his struggles with frozen bananas.
Moreover, some even asked Shapovalov his favorite TV show, to which he replied that his all-time favorite TV show is ‘The Office’. Then, one fan asked Shapovalov a really beautiful question. “Who was your biggest inspiration growing up?” the fan asked. Almost immediately, Denis replied, as if without hesitation. “Probably Roger Federer!” he said.