Roger Federer in no hurry to return to tennis action: The worst is behind me, it’s going to take a few months

Tennis great Roger Federer said he is looking forward to returning to competitive action but is in no hurry to do so after having undergone knee surgery in August. Federer had two knee surgeries in 2020 and was sidelined out of action for more than a year.

Federer, who made a public appearance at the Laver Cup, said he is in a really good space and is willing to take things slowly to ensure he has a smooth recovery in place.He returned to action in March but injured the knee again during the grass-court season and said he needed more surgery in order to resume playing.”It was a tough process to take that decision, just because I already had couple of knee surgeries last year,” Federer told American former world number one Jim Courier in an interview at the Laver Cup.”I was really unhappy with how things went at Wimbledon. I was just nowhere near where I wanted to be to play at the top, top level. But I tried my best and at the end, at some point, too much is too much. Now I’ve just got to take it step by step.”Federer began his bid for the record-breaking 21st Grand Slam at Wimbledon and reached the quarter-finals, surprising himself at All England Club. However, he was ousted in the last 8 round by Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz who bageled the great man in the final set.Notably, Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are tied on 20 Grand Slams each. Djokovic looked set to go to 21 at the US Open but he missed out on a Calendar Slam after losing the New York final to Daniil Medvedev in straight sets.It’s going to take a few more months: FedererThe Swiss, who is a co-creator of the Laver Cup, made a late decision to travel to Boston for the fourth edition of the exhibition event featuring Team Europe and Team World.Federer has been seen moving around on crutches and has received thunderous applause from spectators at the TD Garden arena during the three-day event concluding on Sunday.”I’ve got to first walk again properly, run properly and then do the sidesteps and all the agility work and then eventually I’ve got to be back on the tennis court,” he said.”But it’s going to take me a few more months and then we’ll see how things are at some point next year. I’ve got to take my time. I don’t want to rush into anything at this point.”This is also for my life. I want to make sure I can do everything I want to do later on. There’s no rush with anything, so I’m actually in a really good place. I think the worst is behind me. I’m really happy,” Federer added.