Federer itching to get going in Qatar
After a year out of
action, tennis legend Roger Federer is back on the ATP Tour and ready for his first
match back when he takes on either Dan Evans or Jeremy Chardy in the second
round of the Qatar Open in Doha.
“There are still an incredible amount of question marks surrounding my comeback,” the 39 year-old said.
“I don’t know what to expect but my expectations are extremely low and I am just really happy to be playing in a tournament again regardless of the outcome of this event.
“After being on crutches twice and taking a long, slow road back to competition, I’m really happy to be here.”
Through his rehabilitation phase Federer enjoyed being able to be away from the game and to spend time with his family with his mind on getting fit again and not on competing.
“I enjoyed the challenge to be honest, I don’t mind rehab because I can see the positive and the bright side of it.
“With the pandemic and the knee issues I was at home and I was happy after twenty plus years on tour.
“Just being home with the family and not having the stress of the next match was quite enjoyable.
“Sure I would have liked to be back on tour playing as quickly as possible after the pandemic but I had a chance to reconnect with my Swiss friends so there were a lot of positives despite the lows that come with surgery.”
Despite Federer’s age and the point in his career where these serious surgeries occurred he was certain that he was not going to retire from the game.
“There were definitely periods where I had doubts, everyone does after major surgery.
“Overall I am a very positive person and I have a great team and a wonderful family so I was distracted.
“This wasn’t how I was going to go out. I wasn’t happy with my knee so we fixed it and I knew I wanted to come back.
“There was no other story too it and the rehab wasn’t as bad as people make it out to be and I just wanted to be as professional as possible about it.”
