Roger Federer Discusses 2019 Schedule, Desire To Play 2020 Olympics

Roger Federer is aware that he is in the twilight of his career but has made it clear on numerous occasions that retirement is not on his mind at the moment.

The Swiss ace is still playing some of his best tennis despite having been on the ATP Tour for two decades. After being written off following his Grand Slam drought between 2012 and 2016, he changed opinions in 2017.

After a lengthy spell on the sidelines in 2016 owing to a knee injury, he returned to action at the start of the 2017 season and went on to capture two Grand Slam titles — the Australian Open and Wimbledon. He also won five other tournaments to finish the year as the world number two.

Federer continued his form into 2017 and won the Australian Open and the Rotterdam Open to become the oldest world number one in ATP Tour history in February this year. He is currently ranked number three behind Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Despite being in fine form, the Swiss tennis legend did not want to overload his schedule and has hence played limited tournaments in the last two seasons. He decided to skip the entire clay court season for two consecutive years, and is unsure if he will play on the surface in 2019.

Federer recently revealed he will make a decision during the off-season but admitted that it will be a difficult decision as the preparation for clay is completely different compared to his preferred surfaces — hard and grass courts.

“I will have holidays after the ATP Finals in London,” Federer said, as quoted on Tennis World USA. “I would like to decide during that time if I will be back on clay in 2019 or not. And if yes, how many tournaments? This decision will play a factor in my whole preparation and plan.”

“If I play on clay, my body will have to get used to it very early. Rallies are different, we have to slide. We will see. From the other side, if I do not play, it would not be a problem for me. But I would definitely like to be able to tell myself ‘It was the right decision’,” he added. “That's why I take more time.”

Federer, who is currently in Basel for the Swiss Indoors, was also asked about his plans to play the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Despite stating his desire to represent his country in the quadrennial event, the 20-time men’s singles Grand Slam champion admits that it is a decision he is yet to make.

“It seems so far away,” Federer explained. “I would obviously like to play Olympics at 39 years, but will I be still on Tour at that time? I do not have any idea.”