Evergreen Federer planning Melbourne return in 2019

MELBOURNE - Reuters

Australian Open champion Roger Federer is set to continue defying Father Time after announcing he will return to defend his title next year, the Swiss said on Jan. 29.

The 36-year-old notched up his 20th grand slam title and sixth at Melbourne Park on an. 28 with a 6-2 6-7(5) 6-3 3-6 6-1 victory over Croatia’s Marin Cilic, but initially forgot to say whether or not he planned to defend the title.

“Yeah, I’d love to come back. I know I forgot to say that after the match,” a bleary-eyed Federer told reporters on Ja. 29. “But I hope I come back again next year.”

Federer equaled the record of six Australian Open men’s titles, held by Novak Djokovic and Roy Emerson, and emulated Ken Rosewall’s feat of claiming three grand slam titles after the age of 35.

His longevity has in part been put down to the careful management of his playing schedule.

Despite being fully fit, he skipped the entire claycourt season last year to concentrate on Wimbledon, a decision that paid off with his eighth title on the southwest London grass courts.

He reiterated on Jan.29 that he would continue to manage his schedule tightly and despite being within sight of the world’s top ranking, a decision on whether or not his next tournament would be in Dubai in late February had yet to be made.

“We were in talks with them [Dubai organizers] but when the [Australian Open] tournament started, I just said ‘look, if it’s okay, I’d like to decide after the tournament’,” he said.

“That’s an ideal scenario for me. After the tournament, I’ll know how I feel... did I come out injured or not?

“So now we know what the situation is.

“I also have to decide on the claycourt season so all these things are kind of interlinked.

“But it’s possible I’ll play something, but it’s also possible that maybe I just don’t play anything [for a while].”