Federer had mono
He must not have been showing a lot of the standard mono symptoms - I know when I had it, my symptoms were pretty obvious. What is strange is that he wouldn’t have already had mono by this point. Statistically, something like 90% of people test positive for a past mono infection by the time they are 18. If that stat is true, maybe they meant “a mono-like virus” also…
Roger Federer couldn’t figure out why he felt so sluggish at the start of this season. His doctors eventually gave him an explanation: The world’s No. 1 tennis player had mononucleosis.
“Roger found out he had mono, and didn’t know it. He found out a couple of weeks ago. That’s probably what was wrong with him,” Federer’s agent, Tony Godsick, said Friday. “He doesn’t want to make any excuses and take anything away from anybody. In hindsight, had (his doctors) known he had mono, they wouldn’t have let him play.”Federer lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals in January, then didn’t play again until this week, when he was upset by Andy Murray in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. Federer had not lost in the first round of a tournament since 2004.
He was diagnosed with mononucleosis last month after seeing doctors in Switzerland and Dubai, Godsick said. Mononucleosis is an infection caused by a virus. Symptoms include fever, sore throat, headaches and feeling tired.
“This gave him a reason for why he wasn’t able to move and why he wasn’t able to recover,” Godsick said. “It was annoying for him to not have reasons for why his body wasn’t responding.” USA Today
