“I think Roger Federer has paid his dues, he can do what he wants right now”: Chris Evert

“I think Roger Federer has paid his dues, he can do what he wants right now”: Chris Evert

Roger Federer and Chris Evert

World No.8 Roger Federer withdrew from the 2021 French Open after his grueling four-set win over Germany’s Dominik Koepfer in the third round. The match finished at 12:44am Paris local time which also featured three tie-breaks. The eight seed had beaten Marin Cilic and Denis Istomin in the previous two rounds.

After the Swiss maestro’s withdrawal from Roland Garros, Italy’s Matteo Berrettini will get a walk over into the quarterfinals, where he is likely to face World No.1 Novak Djokovic.

The 39-year-old Federer expressed concerns over his knee, which has been vulnerable after recent surgeries. It is also well know that that the 20-time Grand Slam winner wants to focus on Wimbledon at the end of the month

Evert backs Federer’s move ahead of Wimbledon

Roger Federer
Roger Federer

While earlier Patrick McEnroe expressed disappointment over Federer’s decision to pull out of Paris, legendary Chris Evert has shown strong support towards the Swiss. “I think that Roger has earned the right to do anything he wants in tennis right now. He has paid his dues,” said the 18-time Grand Slam champion to Eurosport.

“He has played three matches. He said I am going to see how my body feels, he’s 39 years old, he went into this tournament for practice matches and I think he surprised himself how well he did. I honestly don’t think he expected to get to the second week.”

“Wimbledon is his dream, that’s the golden tournament for him and that’s where his game with the less rallies, more about serving, quicker points, and that’s truly what his goal is. He should be excused for any withdrawal he has.”

The 20-time Grand Slam winner will turn 40 in August and has not won a Grand Slam since the 2018. He was denied the Wimbledon title by Djokovic in 2019. It is understood that he will now return to tennis at Halle in Germany, where he annually warms-up ahead of Wimbledon. Federer is an eight-time winner at the All England Club.

Also read: French Open 2021: Coco Gauff makes it to her first ever grand slam quarterfinal, defeats Ons Jabeur