Former World No. 1 Roger Federer last played professional Tennis back in 2020 when he lost the semifinal of the Australian Open against eventual winner Novak Djokovic. The Swiss maestro then had to pull out of the truncated 2020 season due to his knee surgery.
It has been almost 13 months that Federer has spent on the sidelines however he is now ready to make a roaring comeback. Federer had made a resounding comeback from injury back in 2017 and he will look to replicate the same kind of performances.
The flamboyant player revealed that retirement was never on the cards and his story is not yet over as the 39-year old believes that there is still some fuel left in his tank. Federer stated that he is happy to be back playing as he will participate in this week’s Qatar Open. The 20-time slam champion added that the body is responding well and he is ready for the upcoming challenges.
“I’m very happy to be back playing a tournament again,” Federer told reporters on Sunday. “For now it’s about ‘Let’s see how matches go, let’s see how training goes ,” he said.
Federer feels he needs to do his homework as a lot of rebuilding is yet to be done. The legendary player hasn’t played in the last 13 months and he will look to hit the ground running.
“I know I need to go back to training after here again so from this standpoint it’s just about building up to be stronger, better, fitter, faster.
“Retirement was never really on the cards. I just feel like my story is not over. I’m still a work in progress.”
Federer noted that he has not many expectations of himself in the Qatar Open and wants to take one game at a time. Federer will face France in-form player Jeremy Chardy or Murray River Open Champions Daniel Evans in his much-anticipated return match in the Qatar Open.
