'My heart decided': Roger Federer stuns fans with massive career announcement
Roger Federer has announced he will compete at next year's Tokyo Olympics in a bid to claim the men's singles gold medal, the only major prize he has yet to win.
“I've been debating with my team for a few weeks now, months actually, what I should do in the summer time (of 2020) after Wimbledon and before the US Open,” he said at a promotional event in Tokyo on Monday.
“At the end of the day my heart decided to play the Olympic Games again.”
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He will need a wild-card exemption because he has not played Davis Cup games to be eligible.
Federer has won all four of the Grand Slam tournaments, as well as the ATP Tour Finals six times, but is still waiting to grab Olympic singles gold.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion did win a doubles gold alongside fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka at Beijing in 2008, but when he got to the London singles final in 2012 he was hammered 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 by an inspired Andy Murray.
Federer did not compete at Rio 2016, where Murray won again, but has since twice won the Australian Open and took the 2017 Wimbledon title before losing an epic final in the grass-court Grand Slam to Novak Djokovic earlier this year.
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Federer joins Nadal and Djokovic in Tokyo
Serbia's Djokovic, and Federer's eternal rival Rafael Nadal, have both already said they will compete at Tokyo, the trio setting the scene for a highly competitive tournament.
Nobody will be writing the ageing triumvirate off.
The 32-year-old Djokovic is World No.1 and the player poised to take top spot off him in the coming weeks is Nadal, 33.
The 38-year-old Federer is third in the world rankings, while Nadal and Djokovic won all four Grand Slams between them this year.
The two-time defending Olympic champion and three-time Grand Slam winner Murray, coming back from his January hip surgery, is yet to announce his intentions for Tokyo.
Fans flocked to social media with joy over Federer’s announcement.
How happy I could watch the live game Roger Federer played in japan!
Yes, see you
at the Tokyo Olympic!
Thank you for coming!!!
#UNIQLOLifeWearDayTokyo pic.twitter.com/6JnqOuNCpP— LOVEmrco&cswY (@lovemrco) October 14, 2019
WOW!
GREAT & PLEASE COME AGAIN.
🗼🚄🏯🎾
WE ❤️ ROGER— iku (@iku99862942) October 14, 2019
I’m glad he listened to his ❤️!
— Miranda Yen (@mirandayen88) October 14, 2019
My heart decided to watch!
-Silke K, Fan of RF 🇨🇭— Silke K (@sp0rts_fanatic_) October 14, 2019
Yesss !! pic.twitter.com/SVFIWMSNMO
— @doctor_strange (@drshail7) October 14, 2019