With Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic doubtful, Roger Federer could achieve his lifelong Olympic Gold quest in Tokyo 2021
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The Olympic Games have always been high on the Swiss legend, Roger Federer’s agenda as the singles gold medal is one of the only tennis achievements he has never accomplished. The Swiss star lost in the 2012 final at the London Olympics to Andy Murray and he is desperate to succeed this year.
The 39 year-old Swiss decided to skip the Australian Open starting next week to ensure he is fully fit for the Tokyo Olympic Games being held in Japan at the end of July 2021.
However, the field could include long-term rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, which would make Federer’s task all the more difficult.
Nadal and Djokovic concerns for the Olympic Games could pave the way for Federer
The 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games will likely be Federer’s last before he retires so the pressure will be on to secure the elusive gold.
A stacked summer ATP Tour schedule may not allow time for players to quarantine in Japan which is why World No.2, Rafa Nadal has cast doubt on his participation for Spain in the Olympics.
“Combining our tour with another 15 days of quarantine to play Olympics. It looks difficult to fix it in our calendar,” the Spaniard said.
Followed by Rafa, even Djokovic expressed his concerns regarding the quarantine regulations.
The World No.1 claimed that he personally wished to compete at the Olympics this year as it would be the ‘greatest honor’ to represent his nation at the “the oldest and most traditional event in the history of sport”.
He does plan to travel to Asia even though he has concerns over mandatory quarantine regulations.
Amid the uncertainty over Nadal’s and Djokovic’s presence in Japan, Federer has made it clear that Olympics has always been his biggest goals and the Swiss even admitted that he was grateful as the Japan event got rescheduled due to the global pandemic.
“Maybe selfishly for me it has not been a bad thing that it was actually moved a little, you know because of the problems I had last year. It was a big shock for all of us when Wimbledon pulled out because of the pandemic and then Tokyo Olympics shortly after that, was moved.
“Let’s hope for the best for the Olympic Games coming to Tokyo next year, this is also one of my big goals. I really hope I can come back to Tokyo for that.”
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Nihar Khopkar
(191 Articles Published)