FEDERER’S COMEBACK TRAIN GETS CHUGGING ANEW
GENEVA—Roger Federer resumes his injury comeback on Swiss home soil in Geneva next week with the 39-year-old legend insisting: “We’re on this train until Wimbledon.”
Federer returned to the courts in March, having been out for more than a year following two knee surgeries, winning his first match in Qatar before losing his second.
Doha was his first appearance since January 2020 and an Australian Open semifinal defeat to Novak Djokovic.
Federer was due to play in the May 2 to May 9 Madrid Open, but made a late decision to switch to the lower-profile Geneva event where he should have a better chance of getting on a roll.
“Doha was just a little test of how I was doing,” 20-time Grand Slam title winner Federer told Leman Bleu television.
“Geneva is more than just a little test, to see if I can play several matches in a row. I know the danger of losing early is always there.”
Geneva should test what sort of shape Federer is in ahead of the May 30 to June 13 French Open before he targets his two major goals—a ninth Wimbledon title and a singles gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
“He is not coming to say hello,” Geneva tournament director Thierry Grin told the Swiss magazine L’Illustre.
“He is coming to win matches before his big goal: Wimbledon.”
Even though his 40th birthday is approaching in August, Federer said he is still passionate about tennis and had missed the touring life.
“We’re on this train until Wimbledon, we’re just going to concentrate on that, and the rest afterward, see what happens. The comeback is the priority.”
Meanwhile, Federer said on Friday that athletes need a firm decision on whether the Tokyo Olympics are going ahead, with the tennis star saying he was in two minds over the Games.
An Olympics singles gold medal is the only major honor missing from the Swiss great’s collection—but the 39-year-old said he would understand if the Games were called off.
The pandemic-postponed 2020 Olympics are due to open on July 23.
“It’s difficult,” Federer told Leman Bleu.
“We’re not hearing much. That makes me think the Games will happen, even if I’ve heard that lots of people in Tokyo are against the Games.”