There are doubts as to whether Roger Federer will be fit enough to play in next year’s Australian Open.
The 39-year-old is recovering from two surgeries on his left knee which forced him to miss most of the 2020 season. And with his recovery taking longer than he expected, he is now in a race against time if he wants to take his place in the field in Melbourne.
Federer has not played a competitive match since losing to Novak Djokovic at the semi-final stage at this year’s Australian Open.
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Shortly afterwards he went under the knife to try and deal with a persistent knee problem, and although he reported himself pain free in October and able to practice freely, his recuperation has since suffered a setback.
There is still a lack of clarity about when the tournament will take place though, and that may be one factor in his favour.
It is scheduled to begin on January 18th and continue through to January 31st, but there have been suggestions that it could be delayed by up to two weeks or even more. More official information on this is still awaited.
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That is because of the mandatory Covid-19 protocols imposed by the Australia government which means that anybody entering the country has to quarantine for a minimum 14-day period. That leaves little time for players to clear quarantine and play in any practice events if the current timetable is to stand.
Clearly the longer it is delayed, the ore chance there is of the 20-time Grand Slam winner being able to compete.
Whilst Federer may have been out of action for the best part of a year, that does not stop him picking up awards. On Sunday he was honoured at a ceremony in Switzerland, where he was named the country’s best sportsman since 1950.