Federer :: "I Have Gained Strength, Endurance And Flexibility"

The Swiss, who has played two games in the last 15 months due to a double knee operation, returns this Wednesday at the Geneva tournament against Pablo Andújar.

He has played two games in the last 15 months, with only one victory, against Daniel Evans, in the round of 16 of the Doha tournament, last March. On August 8, he will turn 40 and has 20 Grand Slam titles. Roger Federer will try again this Wednesday, at the ATP 250 tournament in Geneva, with Pablo Andújar as the first rival since Nikoloz Basilashvili stopped him in the quarterfinals at the emirate tournament. Undergoing a double operation on his right knee, he has needed a long time to recover, with doubts that his full return to activity still raises.

"What I can say is that in the two months that have passed since Doha, I have gained in strength, resistance and flexibility, there was no setback," he explained at a press conference this Monday. "Right now I cannot compare myself with the current achievements of others, I need about ten games to know where I am. There are still many doubts about my state of form, although training is going well, but the situation is completely different from the rest, It can't even be compared to what happened in 2016. This time I'm going back from much further away than I did five years ago."

Then he was out for six months due to a back injury, to later star in a spectacular comeback in 2017, defeating Rafael Nadal in the final of the Australian Open, in the first official tournament he played. Months later he would win his eighth Wimbledon, his last to date.

MANY DELIBERATIONS

"I have thought a lot about the terms of the return, there were long conversations with my team to find out if the best thing was to compete on clay or it was not, we even studied the option of playing tournaments on this surface and skipping Roland Garros. Finally, the best The idea was to come to Geneva and then go to Paris. If everything goes well, the next stops will be Halle and Wimbledon, already on the grass tour. We will see how long it takes me to reach the level I want, "the Swiss continued before the media.

The return of Federer, who has been vaccinated against Covid, arouses extraordinary interest among fans. Nobody can occupy the space of a unique proposal, whose beauty transcends purely sporting limits. "I feel like he's the best player ever. It's a synopsis of greatness and class and it's amazing how he changed the game. Seeing the players moving like him is a pleasure and something the sport needs. He's a genius. Just looking at him. you can't say you don't like the way he plays, "praised Serena Williams .

World No. 1 for 310 weeks, he is now eighth on the list, as his status has been protected due to injury. His plans are only short-term, waiting for how it evolves. In what may be his last season, he could also play the Tokyo Games in search of that individual gold that is one of the few goals denied throughout his career. The US Open would also figure on a hypothetical competitive horizon.