Roger Federer will probably miss next year’s Australian Open as he recovers from injury.
However, his coach Ivan Ljubicic says the 20-time Grand Slam champion is still determined to return to tournament action at some point next season.
The 40-year-old has not played since losing in the Wimbledon quarter-finals in July and having another knee surgery.
“I think the Australian Open is not a real possibility right now,” Ljubicic said.
“I think there are very few chances, he is still recovering and knowing him, he wants to be sure he can play to win the tournament and be at 100%.”
“He will go step by step because he is 40 years old now and he needs to be patient. He cannot recover as quickly as he used to.”
Ljubicic, a former world number three, is sure that Federer is not considering retirement just yet.
“We have spoken and I can guarantee he wants to return to playing tennis,” he added.
“When he decides to stop he will retire, but I don’t think it’s going to happen all of a sudden.”
Back in September, Federer said he was “feeling good” after his third round of knee surgery, having also had two operations in 2020, and was not going to rush his return to action.
The Swiss is tied with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the race to be the most successful men’s singles Grand Slam champion of all time and Australian Open organizers have been hoping to have all three at Melbourne Park for the 2022 event, which starts on 17 January.
Nadal, who also finished the season earlier with a foot injury, has said he will be there, but Djokovic has declined to confirm his presence until Tennis Australia reveals the health protocols for the tournament.
