“Needs a Good End to His Career”: Boris Becker Advises Roger Federer To Be Wary of His Schedule

Published 04/29/2021, 3:30 PM EDT

Six-time former Grand Slam champion Boris Becker has advised Roger Federer to watch his schedule and not commit to too many events post comeback.

Appearing on the Das Yellow vom Ball podcast, the German tennis stalwart said that since Federer is about turn 40, he needs to read and respect the signs of his body and plan his tournaments accordingly.

Roger Federer returned from a 14-month absence from tennis this year

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Federer took a 14-month break from tennis to recover from a second knee surgery that he underwent last year. The 20-time Grand Slam champion got the procedure done after making a semi-final exit at the 2020 Australian Open and missed all the tournaments thereafter, including this year’s edition at Melbourne Park.

The Swiss champion returned to competitive action at ATP Doha and won his comeback match against British No.1 Dan Evans. However, he fell in his next against big-hitting Georgian star Nikoloz Basilashvili and withdrew from some events that followed to focus on training for the grasscourt swing.

Amid speculations around his return to Roland-Garros, the 39-year-old recently confirmed participation at the Geneva Open claycourt event as well as the French Open.

Boris Becker believes Federer shouldn’t play too many events at his age

However, Becker believes someone like Federer, who has had a glorious career and has given much joy to the tennis world with his accomplishments, needs to go out on a high and shouldn’t make the mistakes of playing too many events at his age.

“I hope Federer doesn’t make the mistake of playing a lot of tournaments. He is an absolute icon and has lifted tennis to another (level). Federer needs a good end to his career,” Becker said.

The legend added that while the Swiss still has what it takes to compete against the best, the body does tend to “recover more slowly in old age”.

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The three-time Wimbledon champion said the lawns of All-England will offer Federer his best chance of going deep in a Grand Slam and even winning it.

“From my point of view, Wimbledon is the Grand Slam tournament where he still has the best chance of going far,” Becker said.

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Priyabrata Chowdhury is a tennis author for EssentiallySports. He has been a print journalist for a decade, producing news pages for leading national dailies such as the Hindustan Times and The New Indian Express. His passion for sports eventually drove him to tennis writing.

“Needs a Good End to His Career”: Boris Becker Advises Roger Federer To Be Wary of His Schedule

Roger Federer returned from a 14-month absence from tennis this year

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Boris Becker believes Federer shouldn’t play too many events at his age