Roger Federer is back. Or maybe he had never left. The King – despite the long period of absence from the fields: 13 and a half months – has always been present, like a silent sovereign. He returns to the ATP 250 tournament in Doha, which he has already won three times: 2005, 2006 and 2011. And brings its history as a dowry, its beauty, the grace of every gesture.
Yet after more than a decade of sporting dictatorship Federer has shown his fragility. Understandable, at 39. To condition the multiple winner of Wimbledon (8 triumphs) and for the holder of 20 Grand Slam titles there were two knee surgeries, so much so that at one point there was even talk of a possible and definitive farewell (but he has always denied).
Meanwhile Novak Djokovic ousted him from the throne, the number 1 ATP today (for the 311st week in a row: Roger had stopped at 310) is the Serbian. The new and contested ranking system – redefined to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic – certainly favored him, allowing him to remain in the top positions.
This will be the eighth participation of the Swiss in the Qatar tournament. The debut even 19 years ago, in 2002. “The priority was to get back to being healthy – said King Roger – I don’t even know if I’ll be competitive“. Nobody knows. But it does him honor to get back into the game, try, raise the bar again and take another run-up, yet another life as a winner. He loaded himself like this: «I’m worried about my knee, but playing tennis is a bit like riding a bike. And I know how to do it ».
And he has already planned for participation in the Dubai tournament next week. he does not lack the desire: «I want to play tennis all my life, and still celebrate great victories. I thought that during the break I would not have paid much attention to sports, instead I surprised myself following the results and the matches: I usually don’t do it if I don’t play a tournament, ”he told the Swiss SRF.
The last match was the semi-final at the end of January 2020 against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. Federer lost that time. Since then the world has changed, today we will know if even the best tennis player ever has changed. Which does not leave, on the contrary: it doubles. And he has already made it clear that the next goals are Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics. It is no longer a question of beating some opponents, now the question for Federer is different: entering the legend.
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