Roger Federer has opened up about life in the biosecurity bubble at Wimbledon, saying it’s “terrible” being away from his family.
The Swiss legend become the oldest man in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals on Monday with a 7-5 6-4 6-2 win over Italian 23rd seed Lorenzo Sonego.
The 39-year-old seems to have found his best form at exactly the right time and says he’s enjoying his tennis once again.
But his victories at Wimbledon have come with a tinge of sadness that wife Mirka and their four children aren’t there with him.
“Well, terrible,” Federer said after his third-round victory when asked about life in the Wimbledon bubble and being away from his family.
“I have not seen them, I am not with them and that in itself is not good.
“I speak to them you know, three times a day, checking with Mirka if everything’s okay at home.”
Federer was also forced to separate from his family at the French Open last month and will probably do so again if he plays at the Tokyo Olympics.
“For me, it’s not a problem to come to Paris and do [the bubble] for two weeks, going from hotel to club,” Federer said at Roland Garros.
“But having four kids in a bubble isn’t really going to work out for me, so we have this situation here and we’ll have it again at Wimbledon, and maybe also at the Olympics.”
Federer said he and Mirka had decided to see how things pan out at Wimbledon before making a call on the Tokyo Games.
“My first thought with Mirka is to get through Wimbledon, see how that feels and how that goes, and we’ll go from there,” he said.
“Our initial goal was to get in shape for the grass-court season, and for Wimbledon in particular, but so far, so good, everything is ok at home from everything I hear with Mirka.
