Federer 'not far away' from return

LONDON • Swiss tennis great Roger Federer hopes to recover from his latest knee surgery and get back on the ATP Tour on a more regular basis next season, even though "things are moving slowly".

"How, why and to do what, I don't yet know, but that would be the idea," the 20-time Grand Slam title champion and former world No. 1 told Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger in an interview published yesterday.

Federer, who will be 41 in August, has not played since his quarter-final defeat at Wimbledon a year ago while his latest knee surgery was his third in 18 months.

Retirement rumours have since swirled with rival Rafael Nadal surging two titles ahead in the race for the all-time men's Slam record.

But Federer is not going to hang up his racket just yet, saying: "I myself am curious to see what will follow. But I have hope, I have already come a long way. I'm not far. The next three or four months will be extremely important."

He is aiming for a return to action at the Laver Cup in London from Sept 23 to 25 and then his hometown tournament of Basel from Oct 24 to 30.

Federer said: "I haven't planned more than the Laver Cup and Basel yet. After Basel, the season is over anyway. It's important for me to get fit again so that I can train fully.

"Once I've done that, I can choose how many tournaments I play and where... I'm hopeful, I've come a long way. I'm not far away."

The veteran also told Swiss broadcaster SRF on Saturday that he is "currently focusing on (his) physical condition, so that there is no overload" and goes to the gym "five to six times a week".

Federer played only 13 matches last year and just six in 2020. He is currently ranked 50th in the ATP standings, his lowest placing in 22 years.

On Nadal winning the French Open earlier this month, he added: "In general, it's just unbelievable what Rafa has achieved. The record of Pete Sampras, which I beat, was 14 Grand Slam titles.

"Now Rafa won the French Open 14 times. That's unbelievable. I was happy for him that he did it again. Hats off to Rafa. After the 10th, 11th time, I already thought, 'This can't be'. He keeps raising the bar. It's gigantic."

Andy Murray, who used to be part of the "Big Four", alongside Federer, Nadal and top-ranked Novak Djokovic, yesterday lost 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 to Italian second seed Matteo Berrettini in the final of the Stuttgart Open.

World No. 10 Berrettini did not play at the French Open because of injury but the victory over the Scot, a three-time Major winner, puts him in good stead for Wimbledon, where he will hope to go one better than his run to the final last year.

In yesterday's other ATP Tour final, world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev lost 6-4, 6-1 to unseeded Dutchman Tim van Rijthoven in the Rosmalen Grass-court Championships.

The women's final saw Russia's world No. 30 Ekaterina Alexandrova beat Belarusian top seed Aryna Sabalenka 7-5, 6-0 yesterday.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS