Roger Federer says Wimbledon campaign will impact how the rest of his season pans out, admits that "the goal was not to play until 40"

Roger Federer, who is currently gunning for a record-extending ninth title at Wimbledon, spoke about a wide range of topics at his pre-tournament press conference on Saturday. The Swiss revealed that his team would be putting his 2021 season under the microscope after Wimbledon, and he also talked about his Olympics aspirations later this year.

Roger Federer, who turns 40 in August, comes into the All-England Club severely short on match practice and confidence. But his draw doesn't look too cumbersome early on, as he is scheduled to take on Adrian Mannarino in his Wimbledon opener on Tuesday.

The Swiss maestro, who has struggled to maintain his form and fitness over long matches this year, will look to turn his fortunes around with a good showing at SW19. And on Saturday, Federer himself remarked that his Wimbledon campaign could have ramifications over the rest of his season.

"With the team, we decided we're going to reassess the situation after Wimbledon because it's going to have an impact," Roger Federer said. "If I play really good here or really bad, I think it has an impact on how everything might look in the summer."

Roger Federer was later asked for his thoughts about battling Father Time, to which he replied that playing until the age of 40 was never in is plans. The 39-year-old also admitted he was surprised that he's going strong even after undergoing double arthroscopic knee surgery last year.

"The goal was not to play until 40," Roger Federer said. "This all mainly came in the last years. I never thought also with the last surgeries I’ve had I would still be going."

Federer went on to assert that he still enjoys playing tennis, and that the grass-court Slam would be an important tournament for him as far as results this season are concerned.

"I feel I still really love it (playing tennis), I enjoy myself," Federer said. "I will see about the results, if they're going to come back. This is why Wimbledon is clearly very important to me right now."

"I would like to go to the Olympics, but we've decided now let's just get through Wimbledon" - Roger Federer

Roger Federer

Roger Federer also shed light on his participation at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. The Swiss has yet to confirm whether he'll be traveling to Japan, but the fact that his outfit for the Games emerged on social media a week ago suggests that he will.

On Saturday Federer reiterated that he would like to vie for a medal at Tokyo 2021. But in the same breath the 39-year-old claimed that right now he is focusing merely on Wimbledon, and that he would be taking each day as it comes.

"My feeling is I would like to go to the Olympics," Roger Federer said. "I would like to play as many tournaments as possible. But I think we've decided now let's just get through Wimbledon, sit down as a team, and then decide where we go from there."

The Swiss maestro, who will be participating at the Wimbledon Championships for a whopping 22nd time in his career this year, also insisted he was happy that the tournament was being held undeterred after last year's cancelation.

"I still feel a big privilege that I'm actually able to play Wimbledon," Federer said. "If I look back at everything that I went through for the last year and a bit more with the injury, also with the pandemic, it's great that Wimbledon is back on. I'm happy I'm here."