Roger Federer Withdraws From Australian Open, Eyes to Return After It

(Photo : Morgan Hancock/Getty Images) Fans will have to wait a little longer to see Roger Federer in action after he has withdrawn his participation in the Australian Open slated for February 2021.

When Roger Federer revealed his fast recovery from his right knee surgery, he knew that he would still not be prepared for what will be coming.

The world No. 5 concluded that he would be withdrawing from the Australian Open, which is surrounded by the coronavirus pandemic's looming scare.

The 39-year-old Roger Federer had said that he would return to the professional scene once the surgeries on his right knee are finished.

Tony Godsick, Federer's agent, said that the 20-Grand Slam titlist would be geared towards the beginning of 2021, when the first Grand Slam tournament will happen. Roger Federer will be using his time during the Australian Open to prepare for the next competition of 2021.

Instead, Roger Federer has decided to sit out the whole duration of the Australian Open, as he wanted to return 100 percent on the court.

"Roger has decided not to play the 2021 Australian Open. He has made strong progress in the last couple of months with his knee and his fitness. However, after consultation with his team, he decided that the best decision for him, in the long run, is to return to competitive tennis after the Australian Open," Godsick announced in a statement addressed to the Associated Press.

Godsick further spoke that he would begin the discussion about the tournament next week to help Roger Federer devise a plan for the whole year of 2021.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Australian Open's main draw schedule was postponed for three weeks. The tournament was previously slated for January 18, 2021, but it was delayed from February 8 to February 21, 2021, at Melbourne Park in Victoria, Australia.

While Federer is sidelined in the upcoming Australian Open, British player Andy Murray is set to return as a wild card entry.

The 33-year-old nearly retired in 2019 due to a hip injury. The Brit could have just retired in tennis after a tantalizing loss to Robert Bautista Agut of Spain in five sets of the first round of the 2019 competition. He is now ranked No. 122 in the world.

Roger Federer has seen how he dropped to No. 5 during his break after he stayed for 310 weeks as the world No. 1, the longest period in the top spot by anyone in tennis. The six-time Tour finalist spends his time in training in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he stays in his offseason house.

Federer's fitness coach Pierre Paganini and his tennis coaches Ivan Ljubicic and Severin Luthi were the ones who helped him decide to pull out of the tournament.

Since late January 2020, Roger Federer has not competed in any tournament. His last match drove him to a five-setter loss to current No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Australian Open 2020.

After his injury in the semifinals, Federer focused on a charity drive in Cape Town, South Africa, together with No. 2 Rafael Nadal. The two stars performed in a match exhibition in front of more than 50,000 spectators.

A few weeks later after the exhibition, the eight-time Wimbledon Grand Slam titlist publicized that he underwent surgery on his right knee and was expected to recover for at least four months.

Roger Federer missed the remainder of the year, and he has only appeared in six matches.

His last surgery before his right knee operation was dated back in 2016 when he injured his left knee. Federer was forced to miss the half of the season and the U.S. Open, and the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

He came back in 2017 and finished the tournaments on a strong note. Roger Federer triumphed in the Wimbledon and Australian Open in 2017.

In 2018, he bagged the Australian Open crown, his sixth. Besides the Australian Open trophy, Roger Federer pocketed eight Wimbledon titles, five U.S. Open titles, and one French Open title for a grand slam in his career.

Rafael Nadal is now tied with Federer in the number of major championships at 20. Federer congratulated the Spanish tennis player for his achievement.