Olympics 2016 Tennis News: Roger Federer Out of Spotlight for Rio Games and Rest of the Year
Roger Federer is out of the Rio Olympics scene and for the rest of the year because of a knee injury. The Swiss tennis superstar and 17-time Grand Slam champion is supposed to play for the Olympic singles, the only title Federer is missing in his career. He has been inactive since May during the French Open after sustaining a knee injury that led to a surgery in February.
Federer already has a stint at the Olympics after winning golf for the doubles event in Beijing in 2008, but has never won singles. The latest shot was in 2012 but he lost to Britain's Andy Murray in the finals.
Having waited for years, Federer said that he feels down as this develops since he will not be able to represent Switzerland. The worst is not being able to play for the rest of the season or until he can fully recuperate, though necessary if the superstar is to prolong his career.
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"I am as motivated as ever and plan to put all my energy towards coming back strong, healthy and in shape to play attacking tennis in 2017. This experience has made me realize how lucky I have been throughout my career with very few injuries," he said, assuring supporters that they are yet to see him in action next season.
"The doctors advised that if I want to play on the ATP World Tour injury free for another few years, as I intend to do, I must give both my knee and body the proper time to fully recover," Federer added.
Meanwhile, another tennis great, Rafael Nadal shows slow recovery from his wrist injury. Also, it has been observed that for nearly a decade, Nadal manifests wear and tear from explosive performances during his early career. This left the tennis world with questions if the once "big four" will transcend into just a "big two" since only Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are the remaining contenders for majority of the slams.
Looking at the younger set of challengers, none of the current rising stars appear to be a potential challenger for a major. Nick Kyrgios and Alex Zverev could have big breaks in the future, but are still developing to upset the established names. Another potential is Dominic Thiem who has shown immense promise this year and reached the French Open semi-final.
