3 reasons why Roger Federer will retire in 2020
In the world of tennis, one man still stands as the most popular icon after more than 20 years on tour. Roger Federer who turns 38 this year post-Wimbledon has always mentioned that 'family comes first' and as long as his family still enjoys travelling on tour with him, he is healthy and enjoys the challenge on a professional level, he would continue to play on the world circuit.
In a recent interview with CNN (1 month back), Federer shared the same idea of the importance of staying healthy and retiring on his own terms with an injury hopefully not taking him out. Federer has also made it clear he is not looking for a symbolic moment to retire as he says,
"If I wanted it that way I could have said it at the Australian Open (2017 finals), where I beat Rafa in the finals. I don't know if it's ever gonna get better than that because that was it for me"
To Federer, it simply comes down to, 'How far can I compete at the highest levels while maintaining the level of endurance in each match?'
A few serious challenges and decisions in 2019, could go to show that this year might be last full calendar Federer would play.
Here are the reasons,
#3 The Djokovic threat and others
With the Wimbledon 2018, Djokovic has been on a remarkable comeback trail and eventually returned to his spot at no. 1 in the rankings with Nadal and Federer right behind. Wins include all grand slams after Wimbledon (US Open and AO) and 3 Masters titles along the way (Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris).
If anyone saw the AO finals you would know how much stronger Djokovic has become against his strongest competitors. This has to cause some concern to Federer because after all the success he enjoyed in the 2017 season, he is going to face some stiff competition this time around.
Meanwhile, Zverev has been rising consistently not only in the rankings but also in terms of consistency in performances on the big stages. Year after year, the nextgen players are really raising the bar in the quality of tennis while age is working not so great on the other side of the 'experienced' players.
Of course, Nadal, a consistent figure in the way of Federer, with a big title could maintain the consistency this year as well and maybe even more so as you will see in the next slide.
Also Checkout: Tennis Schedule 2020