Roger Federer, Serena Williams commit to 2021 Australian Open

Everyone is looking forward to 2021, and Roger Federer fans now have even more reason to turn the page on this dismal year.

On Sunday, Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley told Sports Sunday that the 20-time Grand Slam champion has committed to the January hard-court major, along with Serena Williams and "all the top players."

"We will have them] ... we've been talking to them every single week," Tiley said, as [reported on *nine.com.au*.

Federer's last tour-level match took place in Melbourne, a straight-sets semifinal loss to Novak Djokovic on January 30. A round earlier, Federer saved seven match points in a dramatic escape of Tennys Sandgren.

Federer at the Australian Open earlier this year. (Getty Images)

After playing with Rafael Nadal in The Match in Africa charity exhibition—attended by over 50,000 in Cape Town, South Africa—Federer stepped away from the tour to have surgery on his injured right knee. He would go on to have a second right-knee surgery and eventually pull the plug on his 2020 season.

Evidently, he's just about ready to return.

"Roger this morning just confirmed publicly, Roger Federer, that he'll be here," Tiley said.

The Australian Open is expected to have reduced crowds between 25 and 50 percent of normal capacity.

"Serena Williams will be here, obviously trying to get Margaret Court's record. We're excited about the players that will be here and about what we'll put on."