Tennis’ wait for the next generation of stars to truly take charge in the men’s game has been extended once again in 2022.
After Rafael Nadal claimed glory at the Australian Open and French Open to make it a record 22 career Grand Slams, Novak Djokovic stormed to his 21st at Wimbledon.
Heading into the US Open, it must be acknowledged that Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev’s maiden slams over the past two years in New York have not amounted to a changing of the guard.
Indeed, those tournaments were the only two out of the previous 17 slams contested that did not end up in the possession of either Djokovic or Nadal.
But what of their old rival and former trailblazer for the ‘big three’ Roger Federer? The past few years have looked very different indeed for the veteran Swiss.
Is Roger Federer playing at the 2022 US Open?
Federer is planning to return to tennis next month at the Laver Cup, where he will play alongside Djokovic, Nadal and Andy Murray as part of Team Europe.
However, it means the US Open comes to soon for him, extending an absence from competitive tennis that dates back to the 2021 edition of Wimbledon.
An eight-time winner at SW19, Federer lost to 14th seed Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets. He subsequently announced he would undergo knee surgery.
By the time play gets underway at Flushing Meadows, the 41-year-old will have sat out five consecutive Grand Slams.
Roger Federer’s US Open record
Federer has won the US Open five times, with all of those triumphs coming in a remarkable consecutive streak between 2004 and 2008.
His 2004 season truly established him as the dominant force in men’s tennis, with victory over Lleyton Hewitt in New York – a straight sets win where he twice bageled his opponent – following successes at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Federer won in four sets in a clash of generations against Andre Agassi in 2005, the American’s last appearance in a major final. Home hopes were also dashed when the Swiss master beat Andy Roddick in 2006, a win that preceded increasingly familiar meetings with Djokovic and Murray on the biggest occasions.
The mercurial Juan Martin del Potro beat Federer in the 2009 final to snap the streak and he has only reached the championship match once more, in 2015 when Djokovic beat him in four.
What injuries has Roger Federer had?
Federer’s smooth, elegant and low-impact playing style largely helped him to avoid the injury woes that have waylaid Djokovic and, in particular, Nadal and Murray at various points.
However, after a 2016 Australian Open semi-finals loss to Djokovic, he underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee. A back problem on his return led to him missing the French Open, ending a run of 65 consecutive appearances in the main draws of Grand Slams.
Sitting out either the French or the clay court season as a whole became part of Federer’s self-preservation routine in the later years of his career. He has only appeared at Roland-Garros twice since 2016.
Victories in Melbourne and at Wimbledon in 2017 were part of a renaissance that saw him return to world number one and he retained his Australian crown in 2018, winning the year’s first Grand Slam for the sixth time.
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Federer’s knee injury problems truly began in 2020. A groin injury hindered him as he lost to Djokovic in straight sets in an Australian Open semi-final before he underwent surgery on his right knee. A setback in his rehabilitation led to a second operation, meaning he missed the US Open and finished the calendar year without a title.
The 2021 Australian Open came too soon but he was able to reach the last-16 of the French before his Wimbledon run, only for injury to strike once more.
Speaking in November last year, when announcing he would miss the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2022, Federer told Swiss newspaper 24 heures: “We knew before that an operation of this nature would require a long break. So there is nothing new.
“But I wanted to wait for the doctors’ first major check-up to talk about it – and it was very encouraging. So I have started a long process of rehabilitation into which I am putting all my heart… You have to be patient to give my knee time to recover to 100 per cent.
“Playing again in 2022 or 2023 no longer makes a big difference: 40 or 41 years, it doesn’t matter.
“The question is rather: will I manage to hurt myself day after day? Today my heart answers yes. So I take it step by step.
“It is one more challenge, as I have faced many in my career, sometimes without the general public noticing it. And while I know the end is near, I want to try to play a few more big matches. It won’t be easy, but we’ll try.”
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