‘Maybe Roger Federer would like to be the Co-Captain or Vice Captain of Team Europe,’ Steve Flink on ‘Court-Side with Beilinson Tennis’


‘Maybe Roger Federer would like to be the Co-Captain or Vice Captain of Team Europe,’ Steve Flink on ‘Court-Side with Beilinson Tennis’

Roger Federer with Team Europe teammates Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev

Everyone’s favourite, Roger Federer had to end his season early after repeated injuries and early round losses. With his return to court doubtful, Federer surprised tennis fans earlier last month when he flew down to Boston, to spectate the Laver Cup from the audience. Speaking with Dave Beilinson, on his tennis podcast ‘Court-Side with Beilinson Tennis’, famed tennis analyst Steve Flink revealed his thoughts on the legend’s future role in the Championship.

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“Jim Courier brought up to him the potential of Roger becoming the Captain. And he was very, very self-effacing and reasonable, and very nice about it, saying that maybe he’d like to take Co-Captain, or Vice Captain,” said Flink, speculating about Federer’s future in the tournament.

“What I liked was that he didn’t want to step on the toes of McEnroe or Bjorg, or push himself around that way, which I think is great,” continued Flink. This year, tennis greats John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg were the captains of Team World and Team Europe respectively, reprising their roles from the 2019 edition of the Championship, with Vice Captains Thomas Enqvist and Patrick McEnroe.

Federer, who had confirmed his participation as a member of Team Europe earlier this year, withdrew from the tournament, as did Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem. Interestingly, this year, all the players in Team Europe comprised of members of the World Top 10, while none of the players from Team World, were within the World Top 10.

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Laver Cup, a brainchild of the Swiss tennis sensation, is an exhibition tournament, that has recently been added to the ATP tour. Top-ranking players across the world compete for the Championship, where a Team World competes against a Team Europe, with players from the respective regions comprise the team. Each team is led by a former tennis champion, with a Co-Captain amongst the players as well. So far, in every edition of the Laver Cup, Team Europe has been victorious.

“There’s only a small chance we’d see him at the Australian Open”: Steve Flink on Federer’s return to the Court

Roger Federer
Roger Federer

Continuing, Flink also revealed that the Former World No. 1 stated that he intended to “take his time on his comeback, revealing the grim reality of Federer’s unlikely return, before the Australian Open in January of 2022. “I get the impression that there’s only a very small chance we’d see him at the Australian Open.”

Flink, who had spoken about Federer’s potential Wimbledon spell following his Roland Garros withdrawal earlier this year, had said that he’d be surprised if the Swiss managed to make a “miraculous run to the title.” The member of the Big 3 has been patiently awaiting his 9th Wimbledon title, however, the dream remains elusive. Roger Federer currently holds 20 Grand Slam titles, the highest in the history of Men’s Singles tennis in the Open Era, a record he shares with his fellow Big 3 members Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who each won their 20th titles at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships and the 2020 Roland Garros, respectively.

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