Last Hurrah : Swiss Tennis Icon Roger Federer To Miss US Open 2021, To Undergo Knee Surgeries

File Picture

Swiss tennis maestro the 40-year-old Roger Federer has confirmed that he would be undergoing more knee surgeries and he will miss the upcoming US Open. Federer was last seen playing in the Wimbledon, and after that, he also gave Tokyo Olympics a miss due to knee issues.

“I just wanted to give you a bit of an update on what’s been going on since Wimbledon. As you can imagine, it has not been simple. I have been doing a lot of checks with the doctors as well on my knee, getting all the information as I hurt myself further during the grass-court season and Wimbledon. That’s just not the way to go forward, so unfortunately they told me for the medium to long term to feel better, I will need surgery. I decided to do it,” Federer said in a video posted on his Instagram account.

“I’ll be on crutches for many weeks and also out of the game for many months, so it’s going to be difficult of course in some ways, but at the same time I know it’s the right thing to do because I want to be healthy, I want to be running around later as well again and I want to give myself a glimmer of hope to return to the tour in some shape or form,” he added.

Further talking about his comeback, the 20-time Grand Slam champion said: “I am realistic, don’t get me wrong. I know how difficult it is at this age right now to do another surgery and try it. But I want to be healthy, I will go through the rehab process I think also with a goal while I’m still active, which I think is going to help me during this long period of time.”

Earlier, after losing to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon 2021, the Swiss tennis maestro had said: “I really do not know if that was the last time I will play Wimbledon.”

Hurkacz stunned 39-year-old Federer to storm into the semifinals of the tournament. Hurkacz defeated Federer 6-3, 7-6, 6-0 in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam here at the Centre Court.