Injury-hit Roger Federer has said he had no plans to retire and insisted he was still in good enough shape to win Grand Slams after crashing out of the Australian Open semifinals to Novak Djokovic.
The 38-year-old fell to the Serb 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 6-3, admitting he only had “a three per cent” chance as he nursed a groin injury picked up in his quarterfinal epic against Tennys Sandgren, where he saved seven match points.
Despite the disappointment, the Swiss great believes he is still a force to be reckoned with.
“Yes, I do believe that,” the world No 3 said when asked if he was confident about adding to his 20 Grand Slam titles.
“I think by having the year that I had last year, also with what I have in my game, how I’m playing, I do feel that yeah.”
Federer, who reached last year’s Roland Garros semifinals and lost a five-set Wimbledon final to Djokovic, said he hopes to return to Melbourne in 2021 for a crack at a seventh title.
“You never know what the future holds. Especially my age, you don’t know,” he said.
“I’m confident. I’m happy how I’m feeling, to be honest. I got through a good, nice training block. No plans to retire.
“From that standpoint, we’ll see how the year goes, how everything is with the family. We’ll go from there. Of course, I hope to be back.”
