Federer shakes off the rust
ROGER FEDERER made a winning return as he recovered from a set down to beat Germany’s Mischa Zverev 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 at the Stuttgart Open. The Wimbledon champion, who again skipped the clay-court part of the season, showed rust early on but it did not take him too long to rediscover his rhythm. “Three months is a long time, it’s longer than the year-end break,” said Federer, who had not played since March.
“So I’m very happy returning on good terms on the Tour. It’s difficult, I missed some chances in the first set. But then I found my rhythm.
“I’m super happy to be back. It’s a great start.” Meanwhile, his great rival Rafael Nadal has pulled out of next week’s Queen’s tournament, saying he needs more time to recover after winning the French Open on Sunday.
“I’d like to say sorry to the tournament organisers and most of all to the fans who were hoping to see me play, but I’ve spoken to my doctors and I need to listen to what my body’s telling me,” said Nadal. In Nottingham, Dan Evans claimed one of the best wins of his comeback so far by beating grasscourt specialist Sergiy Stakhovsky 7-5, 7-6 in the second round of the Nature Valley Open.
This is the fourth tournament Evans has played since returning from a year-long ban following his positive test for cocaine.
His ranking will climb into the top 500 next week courtesy of his win.