On the same day Rafael Nadal won an historic tenth trophy at the French Open, Roger Federer was tuning up his game on the grass courts of Germany.
Selecting to miss the entire clay-court season to rest his body, the 35-year-old will return to action at this week’s Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. In what will be his first competitive tournament since winning the Miami Open in March, Federer will be bidding to reach the final of the tournament for the first time after crashing out in the semifinals last year to Dominic Thiem.
“I had a great week here last year although it probably rained more than it will do this week. Here are a lot of nice people in Stuttgart and tournaments in Germany are always organized very well. It is also not too far from Switzerland and I hope for some support from Swiss spectators here on Wednesday,” TennisTour Talk quoted Federer saying during his Sunday practice session.
Few can doubt how beneficial breaks are for Federer and his game. Hampered by injury during 2016, he took a six-month hiatus in order for his troublesome knee to heal. Returning to action in January, the Swiss player stunned the world when he defeated four top-10 players on route to the Australian Open title. The Melbourne triumph was the first of a series of trophies won by Federer this season, who currently has a 19-1 win-loss record on the tour this year.
Relishing his return to action, Federer is quietly confident about his current fitness levels despite the break. During his absence, the Swiss participated in two Match for Africa exhibition events to help raise money for the Roger Federer Foundation, which supports education in Africa.
“I am really pleased with my physical condition. I have already completed the entire fitness part of the training and the only thing missing right now is playing matches. I am really looking forward to be back on the court.” Said Federer.
Federer will be the top seed in this week’s Stuttgart Open. Receiving a first round bye, he will begin his campaign on Wednesday against either Tommy Haas or Pierre-Hugues Herbert. It will be the first of two grass court events that he will participate in prior to Wimbledon, which starts on July 3rd.
Federer’s projected route in Stuttgart:
R1 – BYE
R2 – Haas/Herbert
QF – M.Zverev
SF – Berdych
F – Dimitrov#MercedesCup— GameSetMatch 🎾 (@Tennis18MAD) 10 June 2017
