Roger Federer is the Happiest Loser in Doha

By Alix Ramsay

The comeback was short and remarkably – given that he looked utterly knackered at the end of it – sweet. Roger Federer is back at work with two fully functioning knees and a body that seems willing, if not yet quite ready, to take on the rigours of the tour again.

After 14 months away, he managed to play two matches at the Qatar Exxon Mobil Open. He spent four hours and 18 minutes on court, taking three sets to get the better of Dan Evans and hanging on for three sets before falling to Nikoloz Basilashvili. He had a match point against the powerful Georgian but, in truth, by that stage he was running out of puff and unexpected bits of him were hurting (his right shoulder mainly). Still, he was pleased. Delighted, even.

“I come from so far away that I’m actually happy that I was able to play back-to-back three-set matches against top players,” he said, utterly unfussed by losing to a bloke ranked No.42 in the world pecking order and one he absolutely crushed last time they met. “That’s an important step forward to me.

“I’m not 100 per cent yet. I can feel it. I can see it, you know. From that standpoint, important is to be 100 per cent by the grass court season. I know that. I’m still building up.

“So this is a stepping stone. I’m actually happy how I felt today on court overall. I felt better against Dan, you know, physically I would think naturally, but I think Basilashvili plays a totally different game to Dan. How do you say? What Dan can’t do, Nikoloz can do and vice versa.”

Federer has done this before, of course. The last time he came back from a lengthy lay-off with knee problems, he turned up at the Australian Open expecting little and walked away – unaided – with the trophy. But that was back in 2017. He was 35 then and while that was still fairly ancient by the standards of any professional athlete, it was nothing compared to being 39. And back then, he had been side-lined for only six months and undergone only one operation on his ailing left knee.

This time around, he has been gone for more than a year, he has had two operations on his dodgy right knee and he will turn 40 in four months. This comeback, then, is far, far harder than anything he has experienced before. Not that it seems to worry him – his sights are set on being ready for Wimbledon and then who knows what might happen.

“To be honest, when I took the second surgery I was definitely eyeing more for the Australian Open or something at that point,” he said. “But when I saw the progress was slow and I had to be careful and I had lost all muscles basically, we knew that we’re going to pick a schedule that’s going to make the Australian Open really close, and, yeah, you can see like this — I mean, I could have played the Australian Open like this but worse, and I’m not winning the Australian Open this way. That’s why there is no point of going there.

“Now after doing what we were able to really do, finally play some points and now play a match, I knew and we knew that I still need another five, six weeks in fitness, probably a little bit more down the road.

“So in those next, I don’t know how many months that is till Wimbledon, maybe four months or so, I think we’ve just got to take a real good look at the schedule and see when we do the fitness with Pierre, what I still need to do in terms of rehab with Danny, my physio, and then with the tennis coaches and just see how much workload can the body and the knee still take and what’s the best way to prepare all the way for basically the beginning of the season for me, which is the grass court season.”

Part of that careful planning means that Federer has withdrawn from next week’s event in Dubai opting instead to go back to training, practice and rehab. He has dipped his 39-year-old toe in the water and decided it is still a bit cold for a chap of his age. Where and how often he will play will depend on how he feels week by week.

“I think matches are important,” he said. “What comes before the grass courts are the clay courts. So from that standpoint, I have no choice but to play on clay if I want to play matches.

“It could be good for me, the clay. It could be bad for me, the clay. So I will only know in practice, but I don’t think it’s going to be bad, to be honest.

“I assume I will play some clay, you know. The question is what. We have a vague idea, but we said let’s wait for Doha and potentially Dubai to potentially make any decisions for that, and fitness comes first and then we’ll see what comes after.

At the end, everything is geared towards the grass. So whatever makes me be 100 per cent there, I will do.”

On what little evidence there is so far, the signs are promising. Against Evans, Federer set off a thundering pace – it was like he had never been away. He knew exactly what to expect, though, as he and the world No.28 has been practice partners for the previous couple of weeks; Fed knew Evo could do. And Evo can do a lot.

At times, he might seem like a bit of a scally but Evo is a seriously talented player. Had he been six inches taller (he stands 5ft 9ins) his career might have been very different. As it is, he has a one-handed backhand (like Federer), he has marvellous touch (like Federer) and he can improvise (like Federer). What he doesn’t have is a killer shot, the run-and-save-yourselves-while-you-still-can belter that can frighten the living bejaysus out of the opposition. That said, the older and wiser he gets, coupled with his willingness to work hard these days (a ferocious work ethic not being a feature of his early years), he is playing the best tennis of his life. He pushed Federer – and Federer had to push back with extra oomph to get the job done.

There was no hint of Fed’s movement being a problem despite those knees and his serving in the opening set was impressive. Sure enough there were errors – that touch at the net needs a bit of practice – but he was just knocking the rust off a game that had been in cold storage for 14 months. By the time he got to Basilashvili, the tank was low at the start and he was running on fumes by the end. That, though, can be remedied with more time on the practice courts and more matches. It is no wonder the old boy was pleased with his trip to Doha.

“This [loss] is super easy [to get over],” he said. “I’m already over it. I mean, I would have loved to play tomorrow. Don’t get me wrong, you know. But at the same time, I’m also happy to get a rest. I’m happy how I played today. I’m happy how I did yesterday. I’m happy I was back on the tour. I’m pleased I came here to Doha. So it’s really, really a positive return for me. I’m really happy.”

“This [loss] is super easy [to get over],” he said. “I’m already over it. I mean, I would have loved to play tomorrow. Don’t get me wrong, you know. But at the same time, I’m also happy to get a rest. I’m happy how I played today. I’m happy how I did yesterday. I’m happy I was back on the tour. I’m pleased I came here to Doha. So it’s really, really a positive return for me. I’m really happy.”