Roger Federer: Australian Open 2016 is a big goal for me

At 34 years old and with 17 grand slam titles, Roger Federer is often asked about retirement even though the Swiss tennis great has shunned the idea many times in the past. In a new interview, Federer further spared the fans from any theory of retirement and revealed his plans for the 2016 tennis season. As the new season kicks off in less than three weeks, Federer said that the Australian Open 2016 is one of his top priorities.

“I’ve planned all of 2016, you know all the way through the Rio Olympics and beyond so I am probably going to announce that schedule in the coming weeks, yeah, I’m looking forward to next year,” Federer said in an interview. “Australia’s obviously a big goal for me and after that it’s going to be a long tough year.”

Federer, a four-time Australian Open champion, said that he feels to be in good shape so the fans will definitely see more of him next year. He added that he hopes to be able to play longer on tour.

Looking ahead to the 2016 tennis season, Federer also revealed that the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games are also on his mind. It may well be the last opportunity for the Swiss tennis champion to claim an elusive Olympic singles medal. In the 2012 London Games, Federer lost to Andy Murray in the finals of men’s singles.

ATP had already announced the schedule of tournaments for the 2016 tennis season. The only significant change is that the tour organisers made sure that the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games will not interfere with ATP World Tour Master 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati. The Olympics is set between the said two tournaments.