“Roger Federer is going to play maybe just one game” Tomas Berdych opines on Federer’s comeback

“Roger Federer is going to play maybe just one game” Tomas Berdych opines on Federer’s comeback

Tomas Berdych and Roger Federer

Former World No. 4 Tomas Berdych recently spoke about the comeback plan of Roger Federer who continues to rehab after his surgery post the 2021 Wimbledon where he injured his knee and had to end the season. It is a second massive injury for the Swiss and is set to return only in April next year which would mean he is set to miss at least the first half of the season.

Roger expects himself to return only after the 2022 Wimbledon and many pundits doubt whether he will be able to make a successful comeback as he will turn 41 in August 2022. With the rise of the new players, things might be difficult for Federer when he returns next year.

Speaking about one of his arch-nemesis, Berdych had an interesting take on when a player knows his retirement has come. “One day, I woke up and I knew it was my last match. If you’re in the middle of your career and you get injured for six months and do a good prep basically, you know what’s going to happen when you start playing.

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“But I think in this situation he has to be mentally prepared and accept the idea that he is going to play maybe just one game, even though he has done everything he can. It is not easy to come back, especially since the young people will be there and will not do him any favours,” said Berdych.

Roger Federer beat Tomas Berdych in 20 of their 26 meetings

Tomas Berdych and Roger Federer
Tomas Berdych and Roger Federer

Federer and Berdych met 26 times on the Tour where the 20-time Grand Slam champion won 20 matches while Tomas managed only 6 victories. While Tomas won their first-ever meeting, Federer won the next 8 matches before Berdych won 2 more. Federer and Tomas split the next two games to have the head-to-head at 9-4.

Federer won the next two meetings and Berdych won the next two games, his final two victories that saw the tie at 11-6. Federer then won the last 9 matches to take the lead at 20-6 with their last meeting taking place at the 2018 Australian Open as Berdych retired in 2019.

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