Roger Federer announced that he won’t be participating in the ATP Cup. The event is expected to precede the Australian Open in Melbourne come 2020. The Swiss referred his decision to withdraw from the competition as a way of creating more time for his family. He will have two weeks off the court to be with his wife and children.
However, the Swiss will be participating in some exhibition matches in China and South America. Besides, he has a crucial game against Rafael Nadal in South Africa. Meanwhile, he will be hoping to win his 7th ATP Finals in London. The 38-year-old will have to pull off an excellent performance against Novak Djokovic, who wants to topple the Spaniard from the ATP World number one rank.
“The South America expo tour was already long in scheduling, something I’d wanted to do for a long time. I couldn’t do it because of my knee, because of my children, couldn’t do it the year after or two years after because it was going to be too much. South America was a priority for me, ATP Cup, too, to play the first week.”
Wawrinka ruled out of the ATP Cup
Nadal’s Swiss counterpart, Stan Wawrinka, will not be playing in the ATP Cup. The two were part of the Switzerland team, which was supposed to play against Great Britain. Now that both of them will not be part of the warm-up event in Australia, it means Switzerland has not qualified for the showpiece.
“Then when I realized Stan wasn’t going to play, the family wasn’t going to travel to Sydney, I’d rather stay at home with the family. Train easy and make a priority the Australian Open, and the World Tour Finals,” Federer admitted.
Stan Wawrinka said, “I have a contract with the Doha tournament, which takes place at the same time as the ATP Cup.” It means, the Swiss has opted to take part in the Doha tournament instead of the ATP Cup. He also talked about his stance on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Roger Federer trying to spend more time with his Family
The 20 times Grand Slam titles winner decided to withdraw from the ATP Cup to spend more time with his family. Although he was already bound to participate in that inaugural cup, he thought it was wise to go against his earlier decision.
“When we had to sign up for the ATP Cup, it was shortly after Wimbledon, for me it was always a logical to play the first week,” he said. He also did shed some light on his upcoming vital match between him and Rafael Nadal in South Africa.
“Got the dream with Rafa on February 7, I’ve been trying to get a date with Rafa for last two or three years. That was always going to be a priority for me as well,” he explained.
Roger Federer’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.3, Federer played his last match on the 27th of October when he overcame Alex De Minaur 6-2 6-2 in the final in Basel to win his 103rd career title.
This year the Swiss has a 49-8 win-loss record. The Swiss conquered 4 titles in 2019 in Dubai, in Miami, in Halle and in Basel. Federer was the finalist in Indian Wells and in Wimbledon.
Stan Wawrinka’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.16, Stanislas played his last match on the 31st of October when he had to surrender to Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4 in the 3rd round in Paris.
Stan Wawrinka’s best performance of the current year was reaching the final in Antwerp and Rotterdam.
Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka played each other 28 times. The head to head is 25-3 for Federer.
The last time that they competed against each other, Roger Federer won 7-64 4-6 7-65 6-4 in the quarter in French Open on the 04th June 2019.
Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka |
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