For a man who has taken himself off the tennis rollercoaster for the longest stretch in his illustrious career—over six months—to give his troublesome left knee time to fully heal, Roger Federer has been hard to avoid in New York as the US Open races to its start on Monday.
His numerous activities this week, however, do not come from a change of heart about playing the last and biggest Major tournament of the season. For his withdrawal from the US Open, the Rio Olympics, and the World Tour Finals—where he was runner-up in all three previous appearances—was not taken lightly, as his August announcement made clear:
“I’m extremely disappointed to announce that I will not be able to represent Switzerland at the Olympic Games in Rio and that I will also miss the remainder of the season.
“Considering all options after consulting with my doctors and my team, I have made the very difficult decision to call an end to my 2016 season as I need more extensive rehabilitation following my knee surgery earlier this year.
“The doctors advised that if I want to play on the ATP World Tour injury free for another few years, as I intend to do, I must give both my knee and body the proper time to fully recover.”
Thus with one post on Facebook, he drew a line under his on-court activities in a year already marred by recurrent physical problems. After the Australian Open, a freak accident to his knee led to a first ever surgery. He was forced to cancel Rotterdam, Dubai and Indian Wells, and then, having flown to Miami to resume his tour, he was hit by a gastric virus and pulled out before playing a game.
Monte Carlo’s clay saw a rusty Federer finally make his return with a quarter-final run, but more problems hit him in Madrid with the recurrence of a chronic back problem, and again he did not play a match. He perhaps should not have attempted Rome, where he played compromised tennis through two matches, and subsequently pulled out of the French Open.
Between the Australian Open and the beginning of his semi run at Wimbledon, therefore, Federer won just eight matches in four tournaments, and missed his first Grand Slam in 16 years. Now he is set to end his first season since 2001 without a title, and will drop outside the top 10—and miss the World Tour Finals—for the first time in almost 14 years.
But the tennis tour, especially for its top stars, is not just about points and prize money. Last year, according to Forbes, Federer earned around seven times as much from endorsements and sponsorship as from prize money.
And like the new ranges of kit designed for each season, the obligations that come with sponsors are set many months ahead of the tournaments themselves.
So in New York, the Swiss has met youngsters at the Wilson outlet at Flushing Meadows, where his chic new black racket is on sale. He has done photo-shoots and interviews in the SoHo district for Nike—also to publicise a personal line of clothing.
Alongside the tennis-related sponsors, Federer also has long-standing ties with a range of luxury brands: Mercedes Benz, Lindt, Rolex and Moet et Chandon.
And while his body may—in elite athletic parlance—be ‘a temple’, he is not one to pass when it comes to enjoying these brands. At an exclusive cooking demo with chef Enrique Olvera this week, the Wall Street Journal reported, “Roger Federer took a sip of rose champagne bottled in 1998, the year he turned pro and won the junior Wimbledon tournament.”
But his most high-profile event this week had nothing to do with sponsors and a lot to do with the 35-year-old Federer’s desire to leave a mark on tennis when the end does come—though make no mistake, this extended break is aimed at ensuring that end does not come just yet.
The agency he set up with friend and associate Tony Godsick, Team8, is spearheading a new three-day, non-tour competition to showcase both current and past tennis icons, but in particular a man who has inspired Federer and many others, Rod Laver.
The launch of the Laver Cup in New York on Wednesday put flesh on the bones of a project first announced back in January, but it was also the first official public appearance of Federer since revealing his withdrawal from the rest of the season. A first chance, then, to find out a little more about his decision and the state of his fitness.
“It was a tough decision to say the least—but in some ways a simple decision because your health is the most important thing. I don’t see it as the end of the something, it’s the beginning of something that I’m working for.
“I’m doing well and training as much as possible. I’ve been strengthening my quad muscles for when I head into the gym in the next couple of months.”
Talking to Jean Palmieri of WWD at the launch of his Nike line, Federer elaborated.
“I’m a very positive-thinking person and so far it’s been quite easy. The days are slower, which is great. I have more time with the kids, I’m doing my rehab, my strengthening. I haven’t had to do surgery, so I haven’t been on crutches or anything, so life’s good actually considering I’m not on the tour.”
He admitted, however, that missing the US Open was proving tough.
“I tried everything up until the last minute. I spoke to my doctors and my team to see if in some way I could make it to Rio. But because I’ve never been to Rio and I don’t know the stadium, the disappointment was in check. The US Open will hurt more because I know Arthur Ashe Stadium, I know the city, I know the people here, I know everything, and I think this one will hurt more.”
However as he hit New York, where he has also been enjoying some down-time in the Hamptons, Federer posted his first on-court images since Wimbledon:
“I love playing tennis dearly so it’s a lot of fun practising.”
But he clearly can’t wait to return to the fray in earnest.
“I’ve never had six months off before… this is a major decision for me not to play for four or five months. Maybe I could have played three or four months later, but I’d rather take six months and be super strong when I come back in January.”
Then the pragmatist surfaced once more:
“I’ve played January to November since 1998. This body of mine deserves a break. I want to be able to walk normally when I retire!”
That, if all goes to plan, may not be for some time yet, but when the time does come, Federer certainly has plenty of other irons in the fire.