17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer held a special Q&A session with his fans on Periscope following a of his practice in Dubai with Lucas Pouille.
Among many topics, the Swiss number two discussed his plans for 2017, his life outside of the tennis court and the Laver Cup.
The current world number 16 will make his long-awaited return to competitive tennis next month when he plans to play the 2017 Hopman Cup alongside Belinda Bencic.
After that, Federer will return to the ATP World Tour in Melbourne for the 2017 Australian Open, which is slated to be his first-look at the highest level of competition since his departure from the tour last July.
On his chat with fans, Federer revealed his ideas of where he will play for the approximate three-month hard court stretch to begin 2017. In terms of his clay court schedule, the 35-year-old has made no decisions as of yet.
“I will have to see how my body reacts to the first three months of competition,” Federer said when asked about his clay court season plans. “I will play Hopman Cup, Australian Open, Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami. Then I will decide.”
Swiss Maestro excited for inaugural Laver Cup
This September, players from around the world will convene in Prague for the first-ever Laver Cup, honoring the great Rod Laver.
There will be one team of European men’s players who will compete against a team of players from the rest of the world. Federer was in New York City this past August alongside Laver and Rafael Nadal to announce the event. Federer said he is looking forward to playing this event, which was spearheaded by his longtime agent, Tony Godsick.
“It’s an event I’m really involved in,” Federer said. “I really hope that all the players are going to play that are going to qualify by their ranking and honor the great Rod Laver. I think it’s going to be an unbelievable event. I’m happy to be part of it. Rafa is part of it too. Hopefully we can play doubles together.”
Federer still working toward 18th Grand Slam
Despite not winning a Grand Slam since 2012 at Wimbledon, Federer echoed his determination to still clinch yet another Grand Slam title, while also recognizing the challenges ahead.
“Please, yes,” Federer exclaimed when asked about winning another major.
“I would love to promise you that one, but I can’t. There’s a lot of great players right now, and a lot of up-and-coming guys too.”
“It’s going to be tough, but I’ll give it all I got.”