Roger Federer announces his retirement from the ATP Tour and grand slams
In the years since he burst onto the tennis scene, Roger Federer has had four stints at the pinnacle of tennis.
He became the first man to win five grand slam singles titles and was the first to achieve three consecutive “year-end” grand slam titles.
His fourth and final grand slam triumph came in 2013 when he defeated Djokovic in straight sets in a final at the Beijing Olympics.
“After this year, I will be ready to try and make the next step of my career,” said Federer, who will play his final match on Sunday after completing his farewell season at the Australian Open.
“I do not know yet exactly where that will be, but I do know it is something that will take a bit of time to prepare for.”
Federer began the year with a tough clay court first round at Indian Wells but came back to the top by pulling off the biggest upset in the entire tournament against Rafael Nadal at the Miami Open.
The 23-year-old Swiss, however, lost in the third round of the French Open to Gilles Muller following a shock win over Kei Nishikori at the tournament in Paris.
The three-time Olympic gold medalist, who was ranked No 1 the longest after winning three straight titles from 2010-2012, said that after this year he wanted to focus his attention on furthering his career.
“I’m in a good place mentally right now,” he said. “I’ll be back up and running. I feel good. I feel I can win another grand slam.
“I feel good and I’m healthy, and I don’t think I need to be at the peak of my powers for another three or four years to enjoy my life and continue to do what I love to do. I’m very happy with where I am.”
Federer had the second biggest winning streak in the Open era, winning three straight titles from 2010-2012.
“I’m very happy to have accomplished all the goals that I had this year, and I think this will be my last year and last grand slam,” he said.
He said tennis would be his life’s work for the next 10 years, but said that as he prepares to retire he would be watching to see what the