Why Federer decided to play the Olympic Games in Tokyo

The 20-time Grand Slam champion will try to win the elusive gold medal again next year.

Roger federer and Stan Wawrinka

Roger Federer has confirmed his participation at next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo. He has won the most Grand Slams titles on the men’s side of the game. The Swiss also holds the record of most weeks spent at number one, with 310 cumulative weeks at the top of the rankings. He, however, has never won singles Olympic gold but has come close on several occasions.

Federer played at his first Olympic Games in 2000. He finished fourth at the games in Sydney. He also met his wife, Mirka, at the event. The two got married nine years later and have four children. The 38-year-old then lost in the second round of the games held in Athens in 2004. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, he won the doubles gold with Swiss teammate Stan Wawrinka. He then played in the finals of the 2012 London games. He won silver at the event, losing to Andy Murray in the final. The Swiss missed the last Olympics held in Rio because of injury.

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Federer to have permission eve if he won’t play the Davis Cup

Declaring his intention to play at this year’s games, Federer said he had missed playing at the global event. “At the end of the day, my heart decided I would love to play the Olympic Games again.” He said that after consultation with his team, he had decided that he would clear his schedule for the event. The 38-year-old, however, added that he would only play at the games if he was healthy. The top 56 players in the ATP rankings qualify for the games if they also rank among the top four in their country. The players must also have played at the Davis Cup at some time during the four years to the next Olympic Games.

Switzerland did not qualify for this year’s Davis Cup finals in Madrid. However, Federer will be eligible to apply for an exemption from the rule. He has shown a commitment to play in the Davis Cup in the past and even won the 2014 title with Stan Wawrinka. Ahead of the games in Tokyo, Roger was in Japan to play an exhibition match.

Federer is sponsored by Japanese brand Uniqlo

The 20-time Grand Slam champion has a sponsorship agreement with Japanese clothing firm Uniqlo. The brand had earlier planned to have the exhibition match between Federer and Kei Nishikori. The Japanese player pulled out because of injury. Instead, he played the match against John Isner. Playing the Olympics in Tokyo will be definitely beneficial for the brand.

Roger Federer’s ranking and performance in 2019

Roger Federer Stats info

Ranked no.3, Roger played his last match on the 11th of October when he lost to Alexander Zverev 6-3 6-77 6-3 in the quarter in Shanghai.

This year the Swiss has a 45-8 win-loss record. The Swiss clinched 3 titles in 2019 in Dubai, in Miami and in Halle. Roger was the finalist in Indian Wells and in Wimbledon.

Roger Federer

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