Roger Federer began his comeback to tennis in Geneva, which will then follow with a series of tournament appearances including Wimbledon and then the Tokyo Olympics.
The former world No. 1 said he hopes to return to his best level, despite the next generation of players gaining ground during their lengthy injury break.
The Swiss has been away from the slopes since March, when he returned after being away for more than a year, the product of two knee surgeries, and won his first game in Qatar before losing his second. Doha had been his first appearance since January 2020, when he suffered an Australian Open semi-final loss to Novak Djokovic.
“I’m just worried about where my game is. The guys on the tour are all in a good rhythm. The level that everyone is producing is great. I want to achieve that again as well, “he commented to reporters, adding:” I’m excited for the comeback, that’s where my attention should be and not trying to be on the same level as Rafa and Novak at the moment. “
His old rivals Djokovic and Nadal played a two-hour, 49-minute final in Rome on Sunday, with the Spaniard notching a 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 victory to equal the world’s number one Serbian record of 36. Masters 1000. series titles.
Regarding the possibility of playing the best tournaments despite his long absence, he admitted: “I know I should be at number 800 in the ranking, since I have not played anything these months. However, if my knee and fitness aren’t 100%, I won’t be able to hold there forever. If I can be 100% and do it well, then it will mean that I am better than the number 800. What I can say is that in these two months since Doha, I have gained strength, endurance and flexibility. “
In turn, Federer admitted to being impressed by the level of tennis shown during his absence from the tour: “One thing is for sure, I would hope that the generation of Tsitsipas, Zverev, Rublev, Medvedev have improved again naturally because they have more experience. . Dominic won a Slam in the meantime. Rafa, Novak are still where they are. You’d think the game has gotten better again. For me, that is going to be an additional challenge, more difficult for me to find that level, but I guess I knew from the beginning that it was never going to be simple, regardless of whether I was going to be away for three months or almost a year and a half. ” . (GG) (INFOBAE)