Severin Luthi believes Roger Federer will come back in the tennis scene as healthy as ever, and the Swiss coach admitted he won't even be surprised to see the 17-time Grand Slam winner in full health next year.
Luthi, Federer's longtime coach and Swiss Davis Cup captain, is not worried on Federer's form coming back from an injury that forced the world No. 3 to skip the remainder of the season. With plenty of months to recuperate and realign his illustrious career, Luthi claimed it would not even be a surprise to see the Swiss Maestro in best form.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see Roger in the.best physical condition and preparation ever early next year," Luthi told Teleclub Sport as reported by Tennis World USA.
Federer's downward spiral stint this year started after suffering a knee injury a day after losing to career rival Novak Djokovic in the semifinal round of the Australian Open in January. The injury required the Basel native to undergo surgery to repair a torn left meniscus, which required Federer to sit out for more than two months before returning at the Monte Carlo Masters.
But after getting back from a knee problem, Federer was forced to be sidelined again due to a back injury, causing him to withdraw from the French Open, which halted his record 65 consecutive Grand Slam appearances. He then returned at the Stuttgart Open and made an impressive run at Wimbledon only to be defeated by Milos Raonic in the semifinal stage of the event, where Federer re-injured his surgically-repaired knee.
It was after that setback Federer had to decide to miss the rest of the season, missing the opportunity to compete at the Rio Olympics and, for the first time since 1999, skipped the US Open in New York.
"The love I have for tennis, the competition, tournaments and of course you, the fans remains intact," Federer wrote in a Facebook post. "I am as motivated as ever and plan to put all my energy towards coming back strong, healthy and in shape to play attacking tennis in 2017."
There is plenty of time for Federer to recover and return to tennis action in his best form possible as he aims to stage a comeback at the Australian Open next year. Fans may be disappointed to not witness Federer in the remaining events of this season, but his decision to step away from the sport temporarily should be for the better good of his career.