Roger Federer on retirement: ‘We’re not there yet’
Heading into his 18th season as a professional tennis player, Roger Federer is often asked about his retirement from the sport, but Swiss tennis maestro insisted that he will not stop playing tennis anytime soon. Retirement is far from Federer’s thoughts as he enjoys playing the sport to even contemplate about hanging up his racket for good.
Speaking in a report by The Associated Press after clinching his seventh title at his hometown tournament in Basel, Federer revealed he is having so much fun to think about retiring from the sport. For fans of the Swiss, widely hailed as the greatest tennis player of all time, they just have to enjoy Federer’s last few years instead of anticipate the time when he will quit tennis.
Some critics have already written off Federer as incapable of winning tournaments or event get to the top of world rankings, but the 34-year-old has managed to fend off not only his longtime rivals but also younger opponents. He had remained fit and injury-free. He is back to the World No. 2 rank with his Basel victory.
While it is inevitable that Federer would leave tennis, he hopes that his retirement will gradually be dealt, adding that he would want to know when the right time is. According to Federer, he is not thinking about quitting the sport at this point in time. Federer also said that he would have a talk about retirement with his family. Until then, he has no immediate plan to retire.
“I would let them know about it (retirement) rather than saying I have taken the decision already,” Federer said. “I would probably ask them, ‘Do you think this is a good idea,’ everybody will agree with me at that point anyway, but we’re not there yet.”
Federer is still playing at a solid level at this point in his career. His recent destruction of Rafael Nadal during the finals of the 2015 Swiss Indoors Basel proves that he is still one of the top players today. Although he had not won a grand slam title since 2012, he continues to win minor titles to add in his long list of tennis accolades. These results are quite unfathomable for any player of his age.
The Swiss now head to Paris for the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event at the BNP Paribas Masters. He begins his campaign against Andreas Seppi, who previously beat Pablo Cuevas in the opening round 7-5 6-3. After Paris, Federer will make his 14th consecutive appearance at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. Then he will take part in the second season of the International Premier Tennis League, making appearances in three out of five venues (India, Singapore, and Dubai).
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