In what has been an injury-stricken start to the season, Roger Federer is keeping his focus on his health and not a maiden title at this week’s Rome Masters.
The 17-time grand slam champion has been troubled by back a back problem in recent weeks after sustaining an injury during a practice session in Madrid. The issue forced him to withdraw from last week’s Madrid Masters as a precaution. The world No.2 returned to action with a convincing straight sets win over Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the second round of the Rome Masters. The win is a massive confidence boost for the Swiss player, who contemplated withdrawing from the match.
“ I was expecting to lose in straight sets. That was the mindset going in, so to win in straights is actually a really big surprise to me,” Federer said about his second round win on Wednesday.
“I played cautiously, and I only decided after the warmup that I was actually going to play. So for me it was a big match on many levels.”
Federer might be still in the Italian tournament, however, he isn’t expecting to win Masters title No.25 in Rome. The world No.2 has been runner-up in the tournament on three occasions (including last year) and this year is his 16th appearance in the main draw.
“It would be wonderful to win, but not this year,” Federer joked about his title chances in Rome.
“It won’t happen (laughter). I’m so far off that it won’t happen.” He added about his current form.
Extra caution is being taken by the Federer camp ahead of the French Open, which begins in less than two week’s time. The decision to play this week is a ‘calculated risk’ according to Federer and if the worst was to happen, he would still have enough time to recover for Roland Garros.
In what has been a challenging 2016, Federer has already withdrawn from five tournaments due to knee surgery, illness or back problems. This week is Federer’s fourth tournament of the year compared to Novak Djokovic’s eighth.
In the third round, Federer will face a tricky match against Dominic Thiem, a player who has already won two ATP titles this year. Earlier this year the 34-year-old defeated the Austrian in straight sets at the Brisbane international. On Wednesday, Federer admitted that he was ‘unsure’ about participating in the match due to his ongoing back troubles. Despite these worrying words, he is expected to play Thiem according to tournament officials.
Federer’s third round match against Thiem in Rome will start at 12:00 (UTC+01:00) on Center Court.
