Federer looking for turnaround

No. 3 seed pulled out of French Open to heal back for ‘favorite’ tournament

LONDON — Missing his first Grand Slam in 17 years, the French Open, was worth it to Roger Federer to be fit and confident for Wimbledon.

Federer said Saturday at the All England Club that he had a pinch of doubt he would miss his first Wimbledon since 1999 when he had to withdraw from the French Open because of back problems.

“If you enter, you want to feel like you have a chance to go deep and win, and that’s why I’m here,” he said. “This is a huge boost for me after pulling out of Paris that I’m back at my favorite tournament. It’s a huge opportunity for me to maybe turn around the season.”

The season has been frustrating for Federer.

A day after losing in the Australian Open semifinals to Novak Djokovic, he tore left knee cartilage while running a bath for his kids. He got sick in Miami, then hurt his back in Madrid in practice. The back bothered him for a long time in 2013, so he dropped off the tour, reset and prepared for the big titles he had a better chance of winning: Wimbledon, the Olympics and the U.S. Open.

“This back has won me 88 titles, and I’m OK with that back,” he said. “It’s OK if it messes around with me sometimes.”

He said it was more painful realizing what he’d miss if he didn’t stop and recover properly. He returned to play on grass this month in Stuttgart and Halle, Germany, and reached the semifinals at both.

Those seven matches in 10 days were “crucial to me, knowing, ‘OK, I passed that test, the body can take that amount of tennis.’ It’s really important for your mind to know, then you can also feel you can manage the five-setters. All of a sudden, TV: you’re coming into Wimbledon with more confidence and knowing where you’re at.

“I’m not thinking of the title; it’s too far away. Novak and Andy [Murray] are the favorites. I need to focus on getting myself into those positions, meaning second week, growing momentum, the whole thing starts rolling then, hopefully. It’s really important getting the job done in the first week.”

Federer, the No. 3 seed, hasn’t won a title in seven months, and won his record 17th and last Grand Slam singles title here four years ago. He’s lost to Djokovic in the past two finals. His bid for an eighth Wimbledon title starts Monday against Argentine lefthander Guido Pella, whom he’s never played. Federer is in the same half as Djokovic, while second-seeded Murray is in the same half as No. 4 Stan Wawrinka.

Murray kicks off against Liam Broady, whom he will play for the first time. Murray, the 2013 champion, will face a countryman at Wimbledon for the first time. “A bit strange,” was his take on it.

If it goes to seeding, Murray could face former quarterfinalist Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round. But Kyrgios wasn’t looking past his opening match against good friend Radek Stepanek, the Czech veteran who, before the draw, offered to help the Australian practice. The offer has since been declined.

Garbine Muguruza, the new women’s world No. 2, who is seeded to meet defending champion Serena Williams in a second straight Wimbledon final, was nonchalant about having played only one competitive match on grass since beating Williams in the French Open final on clay.

The first-round loss in the new Mallorca WTA event in her native Spain came soon after Roland Garros. She said it was weird playing on grass in Spain. “But the crowd was with me,” she said. “It was cool.”

She said she feels no added pressure as a new major champion.

“I don’t feel different,” Muguruza said. “I’m not taking anything for granted. I start like everyone else, from zero.”