"I just don’t want to see Roger Federer if he's 30 or 40 in the world" - John McEnroe
The end seems to be drawing closer for Roger Federer, much to the disappointment of his fans. Federer's knee injury and subsequent surgeries kept him out of action for the entirety of 2020. While the Swiss did make a comeback this year, he struggled with his game and suffered another setback to his knee.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion was forced to end his season prematurely, revealing that he requires a third procedure on his knee. With the ATP ranking system reverting back to normal, it is likely Federer, who is currently No. 9, will witness a drastic drop in his ranking by the time he returns to the sport.
John McEnroe, for his part, believes such a situation will not make for pretty viewing considering Federer's status as a legend of the sport.
"I just don’t want to see him out there where he’s — I experienced it myself, I know how frustrating it is," McEnroe said while speaking on ESPN. "He’s way better than I ever was. You don’t want to see Roger Federer, if he’s 30 or 40 in the world."
McEnroe cited the example of three-time Slam champion Andy Murray, who currently occupies the 114th spot in the ATP rankings after spending a major portion of recent seasons sidelined due to injury.
The American claimed it is "tough" watching Murray struggle to play at a decent level week-in-week out.
"It’s tough watching Murray at the moment," McEnroe added. "I admire his tenacity. I feel for him, wanting to play so bad, go out on his terms, seemingly how difficult that is for him. I hope he can get over the hump and be healthy. He’s 100 in the world right now. That’s not where Andy Murray should be."
McEnroe believes Federer is more fortunate than the Brit, since he has managed to play till the age of 40.
"Sometimes you got to battle through some serious adversity, like he’s had to," McEnroe said. "I hope he comes out the other side. Roger has been more fortunate. It caught up to him. But he’s 40. I mean, 40 in tennis, even now, is like 65 in another job. Either way he’s going to be able to hold his head high."
I don’t think Roger Federer would want to go out where he never played again: John McEnroe
During his conversation with ESPN, John McEnroe was asked if he thought Roger Federer had accepted that his career was over.
In response, the seven-time Major champion said he does not know Federer well enough to give an answer. McEnroe, however, pointed out that the 40-year-old loves every aspect of the sport.
As such, the American believes Federer would not want to sign off without taking the court once more. McEnroe believes the Swiss will receive a huge ovation wherever he decides to hang up his racket.
"I wish I knew Roger well enough to answer that," McEnroe said. "I think either way, to me one of the reasons he’s so great is that he sort of loves everything about tennis: the traveling, the press conferences. There’s nothing that he didn’t like about it."
"To me, I don’t think he’d want to go out where he never played again," the American added. "He could walk around any tennis stadium in the world as much as he’d like, he would get a standing ovation I would assume. I don’t know if he formally needs to go out and play Basel one more time so he gets that round of applause. I think that’s going to come either way. That’s totally up to him."