Roger Federer Announces Big News Ahead of Tokyo Olympics 2020

Published 10/14/2019, 8:34 AM EDT

The Swiss legend, Roger Federer played a charity match organized by Uniqlo against, John Isner on Monday in Tokyo, Japan and right after his victory, the 20-time Grand Slam champion said he wants to play Tokyo Olympics 2020 and confirmed his return to Tokyo next year.

“I think the court plays great, when it’s outdoors it will be faster and which will be the case during the Olympics. I’ve been debating with my team for a few weeks now, months actually, what I should do in the summertime (of 2020) after Wimbledon and before the US Open. At the end of the day my heart decided to play the Olympic Games again,” Roger Federer mentioned in Tokyo’s court.

“I carried the flag twice for Switzerland in Athens and Beijing, I’ve got a gold and a silver, and I would love to play again so I’m very excited,” he added.

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The silver medalist at the London Olympics 2020, Roger Federer needs a wildcard to play the quadrennial event of sports. “There are certain criteria for the qualification. I would need a wildcard to participate there,” Federer mentioned in an interview with a German Newspaper, WELT AM SONNTAG.

His gold medal doubles victory at the Beijing Olympics 2008 is one of the most special moments of his triumphant career. Roger Federer was in tandem with Stan Wawrinka, they defeated the Bryan Brothers in the semi-finals and then won an Olympic gold medal for Switzerland. Wawrinka believes that the gold medal couldn’t have been achieved without Federer.

“Roger Federer Really Helped me”- Stan Wawrinka

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Amongst the active players on the ATP Tour, only Rafael Nadal has gained the Golden Slam record after his Beijing Olympics 2008 gold medal win.

Last week, the World Number one tennis player, Novak Djokovic revealed that he is skeptical regarding his participation at the Olympics.

Novak Djokovic Unsure About His Participation at Tokyo Olympics 2020

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Earlier on Monday, World Number three, Roger Federer played a doubles match where his partner was a wheelchair contestant and the chair umpire was the Japanese Number one Kei Nishikori. “I thought he was wonderful, very relaxed whereas some umpires on tour take it too seriously. I only got 1 warning today so much better than last week,” Federer spoke on Kei’s umpiring.

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Mahalakshmi Murali joined EssentiallySports in 2018 as a tennis author and has gone on to pen more than 1800 engaging articles, probing into various aspects of the sport and its illustrious players. With her expertise on the sport, Mahalakshmi has interviewed stalwarts from the sport such as Serena WIlliams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou and Kevin Anderson’s physio, Carlos Costa. Equipped with her vast experience and a keen understanding of the sport, Mahalakshmi now co-heads the tennis department.