Roger Federer & his team are trying to prepare for a 'normal year', but it's difficult to discuss his schedule now: Coach Ivan Ljubicic
Roger Federer's coach Ivan Ljubicic recently shed light on their preparations for the 2021 season, which he hopes will be 'normal'. Ljubicic also reiterated that the Wimbledon Championships will be the Swiss' top target for the year.
Federer will be in Dubai from mid-December for training purposes, but Ljubicic didn't comment on his exact plans for the first quarter of 2021. The Croat stressed that they were still waiting for official confirmation of the tour schedule.
"The first objective is obvious, to prepare for the first commitments of 2021, when we can play," Ljubicic said. "Then we'll see. I could say Wimbledon but it's obvious, that's always the top target for him.
"We will discuss the schedule when there is enough news," he added. "It is difficult to do it now, without fixed points. We are moving forward trying to prepare for a normal year. From 14 December, we are in Dubai to train, then, who knows."
The update will come as a relief for Roger Federer's fans, even if it doesn't confirm his Australian Open participation. Federer had sparked concerns about his future with his comments on Sunday at the Swiss Sports Awards, but Ljubicic's words suggest that the Swiss intends to play until the end of 2021 at the very least.
Even when Roger Federer goes weeks without playing, the ease he has in finding the rhythm is incredible: Ivan Ljubicic
The 41-year-old Ivan Ljubicic, who has been working with Roger Federer since December 2015, also revealed that the Swiss has no problems getting back his rhythm even after a long layoff. And according to Ljubicic that is not a God-gifted talent, but the result of thousands of hours of practice.
"Even when Roger Federer goes weeks without playing, the ease he has in finding the rhythm is incredible," Ljubicic said. "From the outside it may seem a natural gift, but it is not something that comes from nowhere: it is the thousands and thousands of hours of repetition, which have built this apparent fluency. (People talk) As if it all came without effort: but the effort is there indeed, in his life as an athlete."
The details of the first quarter of the ATP tour, including plans for the Australian summer, have yet to be confirmed. However, some key details have emerged on social media over the past few days.
The players are likely to enter Australia in mid-January and be in quarantine for two weeks, during which they will be allowed to spend five hours a day outside their rooms for training. The Australian Open is reportedly set to begin on 8 February, with a combination of ATP / WTA events being proposed immediately before and after the Major.
Roger Federer had revealed last week he wasn't fully sure he would be ready in time for the Australian Open, and the strict quarantine requirements might be an additional obstacle for him. If Ljubicic's hope of having a 'normal year' is to be realized, Federer may have to return to the court at an event after the Australian Open.