Roger Federer before returning to Doha: "I'm very curious"
Roger Federer will return to the tour at the ATP 250 event in Doha starting on Monday after a break of more than a year. At the obligatory media appointment before the tournament, the Swiss spoke about his training over the last few weeks, his expectations for the tournament and his motivation at the old age of 39.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Mar 06, 2021, 06:52 pm
Next week the tennis world is looking towards Qatar, in whose capital Doha an ATP 250 event will take place. Sounds irritating, but there is one reason above all: Roger Federer, 20-time Grand Slam winner, number one in the tennis world for over 300 weeks, will make his comeback there and will play his first professional match since the Australian Open 2020.
Accordingly, the Swiss was also careful to prepare appropriately for the tournament, as he revealed in the course of the media appointment before the tournament. "On average, I've been training about 2-3 hours a day for the past few weeks if you add up the gym and tennis. We also spend a lot of time preventing injuries, it used to be easier, although everything wasn't so professional."
It is important to the fifth in the world to make this time as professional as possible, as one can benefit enormously from the training units. "Every minute you spend on the pitch is a minute of the advantage you have over the rest, but today I can't be the same time because the body can no longer tolerate it," said the 39-year-old.
Doha & Federer - history begins in 2003
The Swiss have a long history with Doha. In 2003 - 18 years ago - Federer first served in Qatar, and in 2021 Doha is set to become the city of the return of the 20-time Grand Slam winner. "I am very excited to be going back to this tournament. I played it for the first time in 2003 and it was a great tournament even then, it was spectacular for me. It is a very important event in this region, although I am not aware of it was because I didn't even know the city. In the last 15 years the whole place has developed a lot, although the essence has remained the same, "says Federer.
Now that he has returned to this place, he has only noticed how much has changed in the past few years. "Karim Alami played a major role in the success of this tournament. I'm very curious to see how it goes. It's my first tournament in a long time, so I hope everyone can follow what is going on," said the Swiss, who entered the tournament as number two and could face Briton Dan Evans after a bye in the first round.
"I love the sport"
The fact that he makes the effort of such a return at this old age has largely to do with the Swiss man's joy in tennis, as he emphasized: "I love to play tennis, I love the sport. It was my dream always playing tennis, that's what I've followed my whole life, although I acknowledge that there have been many moments when I've missed being at home and being with my people At the end of the day I saw that it was all worth it, I learned to enjoy the tour, get to know new places and other people "