Roger Federer claims he would have "suffered from playing without spectators" if he was younger, says his "tennis is still there"
Roger Federer has indirectly praised Next Gen players like Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev for their ability to find success despite playing amid the pandemic. While revealing that he has enjoyed watching the young stars as well as his rivals Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal dominate the courts lately, Federer admitted that he himself would have struggled to play without fans if he had been younger.
Roger Federer will be playing behind closed doors at the 2021 Geneva Open, where he is the top seed. Speaking to RTS on Friday, Federer mentioned that he has had fun following the proceedings of the tour since its resumption in August last year, even with several results being on expected lines.
"(I had fun watching tennis) Even if there weren't any huge surprises, with Rafa still winning Roland Garros or Novak who is world No. 1," Federer said. "At their (Tsitsipas, Medvedev, Rublev) age, I would have suffered from playing without spectators or with very few people."
Even though Roger Federer is a lot fitter now than he was during the Qatar Open, he believes he needs to be patient with regard to his physical and mental state. Federer also claimed he he hasn't lost any of his tennis skills, which he would need to call upon in Geneva - a tournament where he has a tricky draw.
"Here, I must first look at the draw, which will necessarily be complicated," Federer said. "But to be honest, it is important to first see how the body and the mind will react, because I believe that my tennis is still there."
Roger Federer went on to marvel at the level of other top players currently on tour, and expressed hope that he and his friend Stan Wawrinka could also attain that kind of form. The Swiss wants to fight against the big stars and challenge for the important events again, like he has done all of his career.
"When I see the guys on TV, I think the level is incredible," Roger Federer continued. "I hope I can come back to that level, with Stan Wawrinka, too. I know that you have to win against the very best to win titles. It's going to be interesting. I'm looking forward to meeting them."
"My training sessions went off without problems" - Roger Federer
During the interaction, Roger Federer mentioned that his training sessions are going according to plan and that he has played practice matches extensively over the last few weeks. The 39-year-old, however, is now keen to see how his training and fitness work respond to the tour matches.
"My training sessions went off without problems," Federer revealed. "I played a lot the last few weeks after the fitness program. It's nice to do what I can do best again. I'm looking forward to seeing what it will be like in a game now."