Swedish tennis great Mats Wilander says he ‘loves and respects’ Roger Federer for the way he played his third round match at the French Open on Saturday evening.
The Swiss world No.8 battled on court for three-and-a-half hours before prevailing over Germany’s Dominik Koepfer. It was the first time in the career of the 39-year-old that he had to play three straight tiebreakers at the start of a Grand Slam match. Federer is playing in what is only his third tournament since coming back from a knee injury which sidelined him from the Tour for most of last year.
Reflecting on Federer’s latest win at Roland Garros, seven-time major winner Wilander says he was highly impressed with his determination. The Swede won the French Open three times during his career and reached the final on two other occasions during the 1980s.
“I feel good now that I’ve seen he is in good enough shape to do that,” Wilander told Eurosport UK.
“You have a lot of people who say maybe they (the players) should retire when they get a bit older and they can’t win a slam. And I’m the complete opposite opinion.’
“I absolutely love and respect Roger Federer for what he did last night. He could have easily thrown in the towel and said ‘you know what, I’ve had good enough practice for Wimbledon.’
But no, he wants to win matches and I’m so impressed with him.”
Wilander wasn’t the only person impressed by Federer. Andy Murray said on social media that he was ‘inspired’ by him. The Brit has also been hampered with injury woes in recent years and has missed the entire clay swing due to a groin strain. He is set to return to competitive tennis at the Cinch Championships which is held at the The Queen’s Club later this month.
Federer’s latest victory in Paris follows his wins over Denis Istomin and Marin Cilic earlier in the tournament. Making it the first time he has won three matches in a row since starting his latest comeback.
“I know in best-of-five set matches you always have moments where you feel better and worse. That’s not the question really. The question is how do I feel after winning,” he said following his third round win.
The Swiss maestro is scheduled to play Matteo Berrettini in the fourth round of Monday but that match has been thrown into doubt. Federer has confirmed that he is pondering withdrawing from the tournament amid concerns about ‘putting too much pressure’ on his knee.
It is unclear as to when a final decision about playing his fourth round match will be made.
