The Swiss who will turn 40 on August 8, canceled the Olympic Games in Tokyo on Tuesday. The reason he cited problems with the knee, which had worsened during the Wimbledon tournament.
“I am very disappointed, because it was always an honor and a highlight of my career when I represented Switzerland,” wrote the 20-time Grand Slam winner on the social networks on Tuesday. He has already started rehabilitation “in the hope of being back later this summer”. Unfortunately, he experienced a relapse with his knee during the grass season and had to accept that he couldn’t play Tokyo.
Federer missed his fifth appearance under the sign of the five rings. The Basler had to pass in Rio 2016. He broke off the season early because of knee problems. In 2000 in Sydney he missed a medal at its premiere wafer-thin, but met his future wife Mirka. In Beijing he won gold in doubles with Stan Wawrinka, in London (at Wimbledon) silver in singles. He was the standard bearer twice. Before Federer, Rafael Nadal had already canceled his trip to Tokyo and Novak Djokovic had recently put his starting chances at 50:50.
Swiss Olympic regrets that one of the greatest Swiss athletes of all time cannot be part of the Swiss team. “We were really looking forward to his appearance, and his presence would have been a great pleasure and honor for the entire Swiss team,” said Ralph Stöckli, the Swiss Olympic Chef de Mission. Federer wished his compatriots Tokyo good luck. “I will keep my fingers crossed from a distance. As always, Hopp Schwiz!”
