3 reasons why Roger Federer will retire in 2020

In the world of tennis, one man still stands as the most popular icon after more than 20 years on tour. Roger Federer who turns 38 this year post-Wimbledon has always mentioned that 'family comes first' and as long as his family still enjoys travelling on tour with him, he is healthy and enjoys the challenge on a professional level, he would continue to play on the world circuit.

In a recent interview with CNN (1 month back), Federer shared the same idea of the importance of staying healthy and retiring on his own terms with an injury hopefully not taking him out. Federer has also made it clear he is not looking for a symbolic moment to retire as he says,

"If I wanted it that way I could have said it at the Australian Open (2017 finals), where I beat Rafa in the finals. I don't know if it's ever gonna get better than that because that was it for me"

To Federer, it simply comes down to, 'How far can I compete at the highest levels while maintaining the level of endurance in each match?'

A few serious challenges and decisions in 2019, could go to show that this year might be last full calendar Federer would play.

Here are the reasons,

#3 The Djokovic threat and others

Djokovic has beaten Federer in back-to-back finals in 2014 and 2015

With the Wimbledon 2018, Djokovic has been on a remarkable comeback trail and eventually returned to his spot at no. 1 in the rankings with Nadal and Federer right behind. Wins include all grand slams after Wimbledon (US Open and AO) and 3 Masters titles along the way (Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris).

If anyone saw the AO finals you would know how much stronger Djokovic has become against his strongest competitors. This has to cause some concern to Federer because after all the success he enjoyed in the 2017 season, he is going to face some stiff competition this time around.

Meanwhile, Zverev has been rising consistently not only in the rankings but also in terms of consistency in performances on the big stages. Year after year, the nextgen players are really raising the bar in the quality of tennis while age is working not so great on the other side of the 'experienced' players.

Of course, Nadal, a consistent figure in the way of Federer, with a big title could maintain the consistency this year as well and maybe even more so as you will see in the next slide.

Also Checkout: Tennis Schedule 2020

#2 Federer confirms that he will most probably be playing the clay court swing in 2019

Federer set to return to the red dirt after 3 years

Federer, who has not played any of the clay court tournaments for 3 years now, seems to have included the clay court swing on his calendar this year. An official statement would come from him only after Indian Wells and Miami, depending on how his body feels after but there seems to be strong interest especially in Barcelona and Rome ahead of Roland Garros '19.

Federer who is known to not play his strongest tennis in clay courts is also known to love stages like Paris. The limited schedule in the past years has forced him to drop out of the clay courts but the urge to play once more under the Paris sun could be further indication that this might be the last opportunity around this path.

Federer last played in Roland Garros against Stanislas Wawrinka back in 2015.

#1 Initial Rounds, Big Upsets

Federer losing to Kokkinakis in Miami, 2018

All Roger Federer fans know that the scariest part of any tournament for Federer is the initial rounds as it has been long known that Federer starts performing at his peak only once the rhythm is truly internalized during the course of the tournament. This is unlike Nadal or Djokovic who maintain a certain level of intensity from the initial round onwards.

In the past, this has not been a big issue as his level was always far higher than his opponents in the initial rounds. So the added unforced errors never amounted to much. In recent years with the explosion of a new wave of players, new generation tactics and physicality, Federer has had a hard time fending off every player is trying to make their mark in the making of a new tennis generation.

To study 2018, Federer lost to Kevin Anderson in Wimbledon, John Millman at the US Open, Borna Coric, 175th ranked Thanasi Kokkinakis.

The 2019 season has not been off to a great start as well with a round of 16 loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas who played brilliantly but it still seemed like Federer had so much more to offer in the match.

What are your thoughts on these developments?