Federer plans Oz return
AUSTRALIAN OPEN champion Roger Federer is set to continue defying Father Time after announcing he will return to defend his title next year, the Swiss said yesterday.
The 36-year-old notched up his 20th grand slam title and sixth at Melbourne Park on Sunday with a 6-2 6-7(5) 6-3 3-6 6-1 victory over Croatia’s Marin Cilic, but initially forgot to say whether or not he planned to defend the title.
“Yeah, I’d love to come back. I know I forgot to say that after the match,” a blearyeyed Federer told reporters yesterday. “But I hope I come back again next year.”
Federer equalled the record of six Australian Open men’s titles, held by Novak Djokovic and Roy Emerson, and emulated Ken Rosewall’s feat of claiming three grand slam titles after the age of 35.
His longevity has in part been put down to the careful management of his playing schedule.
Despite being fully fit, he skipped the entire clay-court season last year to concentrate on Wimbledon, a decision that paid off with his eighth title on the southwest London grass courts.
He reiterated yesterday that he would continue to manage his schedule tightly and despite being within sight of the world’s top ranking, a decision on whether or not his next tournament would be in the Dubai Tennis Championships in late February had yet to be made.
“We were in talks with them (Dubai organisers) but when the (Australian Open) tournament started, I just said ‘look, if it’s okay, I’d like to decide after the tournament’,” he said.
“That’s an ideal scenario for me. After the tournament, I’ll know how I feel ... did I come out injured or not? “So now we know what the situation is. “I also have to decide on the clay-court season so all these things are kind of interlinked.
“But it’s possible I’ll play something, but it’s also possible that maybe I just don’t play anything (for a while).”
Federer said he would make the decision about his schedule after spending some time with family at home in Switzerland, where he hoped the fact he had won the Australian Open title again would finally sink in.
“This year seems more surreal, I can’t believe I was able to defend my title after all these years, that I could do it again,” he said. “To reach number 20, number six here, it’s just a lot trying to take it in.
“Last year was a lot more straightforward, just disbelief that I won and there I was waking up with the trophy.
“But, I don’t know, this year feels more surreal. I can’t believe that I was able to defend my title, that after all these years I could do it again.
“It’s super special, one of the great moments in my career, and maybe this one is going to take longer to sink in.”
Meanwhile, Chung Hyeon hopes his surprise run to the Australian Open semifinals will give South Korean tennis a shot in the arm and the 21-year-old said his next target was breaking into the top 10 in the world rankings.
Chung, who beat six-time champion Novak Djokovic in the fourth round at Melbourne Park last week, was forced to retire from his last-four clash with Federer due to blistered feet on Friday.
President Moon Jae-in issued a statement congratulating Chung for writing a “new chapter in South Korean sports history” and the player was welcomed home by hundreds of fans at Incheon International Airport on Sunday evening.
“I didn’t expect this many people to be here,” he said of his reception. “I must have done something big.”
Chung rose from 58th in the world to 29th when the latest rankings were released yesterday, the highest position ever achieved by a Korean player.
“I really want a place in the top 10 now,” Yonhap News quoted Chung as saying. “I’m setting my sights on something high and going after it.”
The Korean Tennis Association is planning to pour more resources into the game to capitalise on Chung’s exploits, while sales of tennis equipment surged last week.
“Tennis isn’t a popular sport here right now but I want it to become popular,” Chung said. – Reuters