Paris (AFP)

Roger Federer, 40 years old on August 8, remains driven by his Olympic dream.

But after an almost blank season marked by a double operation on the right knee and confinement, his future on the circuit is increasingly uncertain.

"The time to retire is approaching and I know that I will miss the circuit. It would have been easy to retire now, but I want to give myself a chance to still enjoy tennis," said the Swiss in July in the press German, shortly after undergoing - in full suspension from the circuit due to Covid-19 - a second arthroscopy of the right knee in four months and ended his season.

At the beginning of November, he posted on social networks a photo of himself in the service with this unequivocal caption on his intentions: "Back to work".

But, at 39, will Federer manage to regain his full physical condition?

"The next three months are going to be crucial for me", he said last Sunday, during the evening where he received the trophy of the best Swiss sportsman of the last 70 years.

Federer initially hinted that the Australian Open, even though its three-week postponement (it will ultimately take place Feb. 8-21), was confirmed this week, may come too soon.

- "If my career had to end there ..." -

"It's going to be very fair with my knee, he confessed. I had hoped to be at 100% of my means by October, but unfortunately it was not the case, and it still is not. case today. "

"I would have liked to be further ahead of my schedule, but I'm still happy to be where I am," continued the Balois. The operation in June was a real halt. Since then, I have the feeling that I have made a lot of progress. I still leave myself some time to decide. "

"My priority will be summer, with Wimbledon, the Olympics and the US Open," he repeated without surprise.

But the sentence pronounced by Federer, once this honorary trophy in hand, however leaves some doubt on the continuation.

"I hope that I will return to the circuit in 2021. We will see. But if my career had to end there, it would be incredible to end it with this award," he said.

The top 100 veteran, still 5th in the world, holds the majority of his sport's records.

He won everything ... except the Olympic gold in singles (he won gold in doubles with Stan Wawrinka in Beijing in 2008 and silver in singles in London in 2012).

But since his record-breaking 20th Grand Slam title in Australia in early 2018, he has only played one major final, in 2019 in his Wimbledon garden, where he had two match points against Novak Djokovic before s 'tilt.

- Only one tournament in 2020 -

In 2020, Federer played only one tournament, in January: the Australian Open, where he was beaten by Djokovic, future winner, in the semi-finals.

"He has a year left," said former British player Greg Rusedski, ex-world No. 4, in Radio Times magazine in November. Can he win Wimbledon? The Olympics? In his case, he addresses the years one after the other, especially since his double knee surgery. He's not the 2017 player anymore, I'm sorry, time has passed. "

During his first return in 2017, after already an arthroscopy in the left knee and a six-month break at the end of 2016, Federer had opted for a new racquet and made his backhand evolve.

And had triumphed in Australia and Wimbledon in particular.

Can we imagine him repeating a comparable scenario and regaining a head start on Rafael Nadal, who equaled him with twenty Grand Slam titles in October by winning his thirteenth Roland Garros?

"Even if he has a style of play thanks to which he can shorten exchanges, over the duration of an entire tournament, chain matches in five sets, it seems super complicated", considered the former French player Paul-Henri Mathieu , on Eurosport.

Especially since the post-containment recovery, in addition to Djokovic and Nadal, younger players have confirmed the expectations placed on them.

In particular Dominic Thiem, victorious in his first Major at the US Open, and Daniil Medvedev, winner of the Masters at the end of the year by beating in turn the world N.1, N.2 and N.3.

© 2020 AFP