While most of the tennis players on tour right now have been having a lot of game time in recent months, former world number one Roger Federer hasn’t had too much of time on court. After a couple of knee surgeries and a year of rehab, the strenuous conditions at the ongoing 2021 French Open can’t make things too easy for him, with the added mental stress of playing under strict Covid-19 protocols.
Earlier today, we got breaking news of the Swiss professional pulling out of the ongoing 2021 Roland Garros before his Round 4 clash against Italy’s Matteo Berrettini. Seeded #8 in this tournament, Federer had a gruelling Round 3 game against Germany’s Dominik Koepfer which went on 4 sets and three of them went into tie-breakers, which immediately cast a doubt on Federer’s fitness levels.
We all knew he was going to come into this fourth round game below 100% fitness which meant a huge chance for #9 seed Berrettini, who has been looking really solid in the French Open 2021 so far, after having only dropped one set so far in his Round 1 game against Taro Daniel. Now, Berrettini gets a walkover and will a debut appearance in the quarter final of the Roland Garros.
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In fact, this is Berrettini’s only second appearance in a Grand Slam quarter final after a stellar run in the 2019 US Open where he lost in the semi final. Earlier this year, he also made Round 4 of the Australian Open but unfortunately, had to pull out before the game. As for Federer, he made this decision so that his knee is in a better position for the 2021 Wimbledon, which follows soon later.
It’s probably a wise decision by Federer as he’s never been brilliant on the clay court either way, with just one of his twenty Grand Slam titles coming in France. Either way, the tournament will always miss a champion like him and we hope the 39-year old gets the rest he needs before Wimbledon 2021 kicks off. For all updates, stay tuned to ReadScoops.com…
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