|
Federer said he would miss a number of
tournaments, including the French Open in May, after undergoing
keyhole surgery in Switzerland last week. [nL8N2AK4Y3]
Federer suffered a groin problem in his Australian Open
quarter-final win against Tennys Sandgren and his movement
appeared hampered in his defeat to eventual champion Djokovic in
the semi-finals.
"It was a surprise, to be honest," Djokovic told reporters ahead
of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
"I knew he was struggling with an injury in the Australian Open.
But no one knew really what was the injury, what is the extent
of that injury."
Djokovic, who won his 17th Grand Slam title in Melbourne,
underwent an elbow operation in 2018 in a bid to cure an injury
that has troubled him for a long time.
"I really don't like to see anybody going through surgery. I've
been through that once, and hopefully the last time in my life,"
he said.
"Roger is Roger - this sport needs him."
Djokovic also revealed that he, Federer and Spaniard Rafa Nadal
have a WhatsApp group and said the 'Big Three' of men's tennis
get along very well.
"We are all active, and we are not active as well," he said of
the chat group. "When we are active everybody responds. We got
it, we get along very well, I think we know, there is tremendous
respect for each other, privately and professionally.
"As long as this is the case, everybody benefits from that and
the sport as well."
The Serb is yet to lose a match in 2020 having led Serbia to
victory in the inaugural ATP Cup team event in Australia
followed by his eighth crown in Melbourne.
The 32-year-old said it will be a fresh start for him when he
opens his bid for his fifth title in Dubai, and first since
2013, against Tunisian wild card Malek Jaziri.
"Yes, there is room for improvement. That's my biggest
motivation," he said. "That's probably one of the biggest
reasons why I keep on playing this sport and why I put a lot of
effort and dedication every single day.
"I feel that tennis is a great place for me to improve not just
in tennis but also as a human being to build my character."
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly; editing by Peter Rutherford)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
