Roger Federer ‘pumped up’ for his return at Qatar Open after a ‘long hard road’ back to fitness
- The 20-time grand slam champion has not played since a semi-final loss to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open in January 2020
- During his time off he underwent two knee operations and watched Rafael Nadal equal his record of 20 grand slam titles
Roger Federer said on Friday it had “been a long hard road” but he was “pumped up” to return to tennis next week, having been sidelined for over a year to recover from two knee surgeries.
The 39-year-old hasn’t played a match since a semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open in January 2020.
However, the 20-time grand slam title winner will be back in action at the Qatar Open in Doha next week.
“I’d like to thank all the people involved who made this possible,” the Swiss star said in a video message as he prepared to fly to the Gulf.
“It’s been a long and hard road, I’m not at the finish line yet but I feel I am in a good place. I’ve been practising very well and feel just really pumped up. I am in a good place and progressing really well.”