Emotional Federer on target
Roger returns from long layoff to win in Perth
Roger Federer fought back tears of joy after making an impressive comeback to competitive tennis on Monday with an easy win over Britain’s Dan Evans at the Hopman Cup in Perth.
The Swiss champion, returning from a six-month injury layoff, helped his country make a clean sweep of the tie against the Brits when he cruised to victory in 61 minutes by scores of 6-3, 6-4.
Teammate Belinda Bencic also beat Heather Watson before the Swiss pair triumphed in the dead mixed doubles rubber.
The men’s singles was Federer’s first match after a halfyear break due to knee and back injuries, which saw him slide out of the top 10 for the first time since late 2002.
The 35-year-old, who entered 2017 ranked No 16 — his lowest placing since 2001 — said he felt emotional on his return to the court, but that his knee didn’t trouble him at all.
“For a first match it was great, because obviously expectations were quite low,” he said. “For three and four weeks now I have stopped thinking of it (the knee). I don’t have any pain.
“I am in a way sad it (the comeback) is over, because I enjoyed it so much, I feel a bit relieved, but sad.”
Despite plenty of practice in Dubai in recent weeks, Federer said it was important to test himself in an actual match.
He first hurt his knee last January while filling a bath for his children the day after a semifinal loss to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open.
He required minor surgery on a torn meniscus and was then hampered by a back injury that forced him out of the French Open.
The 17-time Grand Slam singles champion then sustained another knee injury during his semifinal loss to Canada’s Milos Raonic at Wimbledon before electing to rest for the remainder of the year.
Djokovic survives
Meanwhile, Djokovic battled back from 5-1 down against world No 63 Jan-Lennard Struff to claim his first victory of the season at the Qatar Open on Monday.
The world No 2 lost his opening two service games and struggled with the German’s big serves in the early exchanges.
But Djokovic rallied in determined fashion to eventually take the first-round match 7-6 (1), 6-3.
“It wasn’t a great start, I was 1-5 down, it didn’t look very good for a while there,” he said after winning in just under 90 minutes.
He attributed his slow start to early-season rustiness rather than any long-term concerns over his form, following a relatively poor second half of the season in 2016.
“I guess I had to get more time to get the engine started. It’s the first match of the year, you never know how you’re going to start,” said Djokovic.
“I mean, I was a bit flat on my feet, and Struff, credit to him for playing so aggressively, hitting the serves well, and ripping the ball from the baseline.
“But I stayed composed because I knew, I believed that I could find the rhythm, start reading his serve better, and that’s what happened.”
Djokovic, who is the defending champion in Doha, hit 17 winners but also 20 unforced errors. His opponent thundered down nine aces.
The 12-time Grand Slam winner is looking to reclaim his No 1 ranking from Britain’s Andy Murray, who is also in Doha, and is the tournament’s No 1 seed.
If the matches go as expected, the archrivals will meet in a tantalizing final on Jan 7.