Barbara Schett says she would ‘love’ for Roger Federer to play Wimbledon again before retiring

Barbara Schett fears that Roger Federer may announce his retirement without fans getting the chance to watch him on a farewell tour.

Williams announced her decision ahead of time, giving supporters the chance to watch her play in her final events, but Schett thinks Federer may go for a different approach when he opts to bring the curtain down on his own illustrious career that has contained 20 major titles.

Eurosport’s Schett said: “Everybody can’t wait to see him [Federer] back.

“And the question is at the Laver Cup, is he going to play singles? Or is it just going to play doubles? One thing is for sure, he’s going to play something so we’ll see him in action.

“Don’t forget, he’s not the youngest any more, he’s been out for a long time. He played his last match last year in Wimbledon, and things are not getting easier at that age when you are out for that long.

“When you play a professional match out there, you can practice as much as you want, but nothing compares to playing on high-level match that shakes your body around with the adrenaline. So, we’ll see what’s going to happen.

“I am always worried with Roger that one day he is just going to say ‘OK, that’s it, I call it quits.’

Schett added: “I don’t think he’s going to do a Serena, where he’s going to say, ‘OK, I’m going to play this and that tournament’.

“I would love to see him play in Wimbledon and then go and retire, but it’s up to him. It’s a very personal decision.

“I think he just wants to give his knee a bit of a test, but we can’t fool ourselves that he’s 40 years of age and his career is coming to an end – it’s impossible to play much longer.”

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