Roger Federer fought to beat Koepfer in the 3rd round of Roland-Garros, June 5, 2021. – Thibault Camus / AP / SIPA
He had not hidden it, back to competition in March after two operations on the right knee in 2020, Roger Federer came to Roland Garros mainly to recuperate before the grass season. Also, after his victory at the end of the night on Saturday against Dominik Koepfer (7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 in addition to 3:30), the soon-to-40-year-old Swiss admitted that he will retire. maybe the tournament without playing his round of 16.
“We have to decide what will be best for Wimbledon”
“I do not know if I will play, he admitted, while the Italian Matteo Berrettini expects him normally on Monday. I have to decide whether to continue or not. Isn’t it too risky to keep shooting (on the knee), isn’t it a good time to rest? At each game, I have to reassess the situation and see the next morning in what state I wake up and how my knee is doing. This is perhaps even more true after a match as long as today. “
We should therefore know more this Sunday. Federer, obviously closer to the end of his career than the start, has hopes of winning Wimbledon again, which would be his 21st Grand Slam success. “The calendar has changed and I don’t have the usual rest week between here and Halle, and we have to decide what will be best for Wimbledon,” said RodGER. So it’s good to have been able to play a game like that and to think that I could have also played a fifth set, but I don’t know how I’m going to wake up tomorrow. “
In any case, his battle against Koepfer will have given him a lot of information about his condition. “It’s a very important game for me. Clearly, I did not do the 3:35 training, we pushed as much as possible as far as we considered reasonable, he said. It is a huge step forward. I didn’t expect to be able to win three games here, (…) so I’m very happy. “
Can we decently withdraw like that from a Major when we could still play to better prepare for another, even when we are a legend of the game? You have four hours.