“I don’t see why he should be criticized,” Daniil Medvedev on Roger Federer’s withdrawal from French Open 2021

“I don’t see why he should be criticized,” Daniil Medvedev on Roger Federer’s withdrawal from French Open 2021

Roger Federer, Daniil Medvedev

Roger Federer decided to withdraw from the French Open 2021, after his third round victory over Dominik Koepfer on Saturday. In the post match press conference after his win on Saturday, the Swiss had stated that he might not take the court for the fourth round, as he wanted to preserve himself for the clay court season.

Roger Federer’s decision has split the tennis community into two halves. A few people believe that the Swiss should not have withdrawn so soon, whereas, others believe that it was the right decision considering that he had two knee surgeries last year.

World number two, Daniil Medvedev opined that Dominik Koepfer would feel a little hard done by, as Federer announced his withdrawal just a day after his win. However, the Russian felt that there is no substitute to victory, and Koepfer needed to beat Federer to progress into the next round.

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“I think it’s a tough topic because, yeah, it’s always a question where straight after the match he says he is probably going to retire. Then Koepfer is there, losing a tight match, may be saying, Well, I could have done better may be after. At the same time, tennis is brutal,” said Medvedev.

If Koepfer wants to be in the next round, sorry, he needed to beat Roger. It doesn’t matter if he retires after. That’s how Tennis is – to be in the next round, you need to beat your opponent,” he added.

I won’t criticize Federer: Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev stated that he would not criticize Roger Federer for his decision to withdraw from French Open. Medvedev added that the Swiss would have discussed with his team after the match, and would have made a mutual decision.

“Again, Roger is 39. Maybe after the match he worked with his physio and he felt the pain in his knee or something where he had the surgery. Then he knows maybe he’s going on the next match, he’s going to hurt himself and not going to play for some time,” said Medvedev.

The Russian also added that the younger players often miss vital signs, which worsens their injury. However, with experience, they learn how to listen to their body better.

“That’s what you also know with experience. That’s when the younger players can do mistakes sometimes. I think altogether, me, I don’t see why he should be criticized. At the same time I understand why people do it. Me, I won’t criticize him,” he added.

Also Read: Patrick McEnroe questions Roger Federer’s decision to withdraw from the 2021 French Open