Pure Fed brilliant
Legend Roger savours his winning return
ROGER FEDERER returned to tennis after 405 days and did what he does best – celebrated victory.
The world might have changed since the 20-time Grand Slam champion last graced a court at the Australian Open 14 months ago.
But even after two knee operations, the Swiss superstar proved he has lost nothing of his winning mentality as he beat Britain’s Dan Evans, his training partner, 7-6 3-6 7-5 at the Qatar Open.
At 39, Federer savoured every moment in front of a crowd in Doha. He had not played since his straight-sets defeat to Novak Djokovic in Melbourne and here yesterday he overcame any rustiness with glimpses of brilliance.
Federer said: “I am happy to be standing here regardless of the result. Winning feels better.
“I was tired and I was more focused on that than winning the points. I thought, ‘If I’m going out I will go out swinging.’ Dan had more energy than me but I served well. I am incredibly happy about my performance.
“Dan has been a wonderful practice partner. We have played over 20 sets together.
“It was a pleasure to share the court with him and it was always nice to win with a backhand down the line.
“The important thing is how I feel tomorrow and the next day and the next six months. It has been a long and tough road. It has been a huge challenge to come back at my age.”
Pushed into a tie-break in the first set, it looked like the Swiss who would falter first, a pair of uncharacteristic errors helping Evans establish a 4-2 lead. But Federer fought back to level then took advantage of his third set-point opportunity with a sweeping backhand pass down the line to take the tie-break 10-8. Evans seized his first breakpoint opportunity to go 3-1 in front. Federer rallied but Evans took the second set 6-3. It was 3-3 in the final set before Federer fended off two break points. Evans then saved a match point but Federer was not to be outdone. Evans said: “It’s a good match but at the end of the day it’s a loss. It frustrates me to hear people say you played a good match. You need to win.”