DOHA • Roger Federer yesterday said retirement was never really an option during his battle with injury, insisting the pain was "completely under control" ahead of his return to competitive tennis at this week's Qatar Open.
The 39-year-old has not played a match since a semi-final loss to champion Novak Djokovic at last year's Australian Open and acknowledged that it was unusual for a player of his age to return after suffering a serious injury.
"I know it's on the rare side for a 40-year-old to come back after a year out," the Swiss, who underwent two knee operations that also caused him to miss the year's first Grand Slam, said. "The important thing is I'm pain free and injury free. I'm very happy to be back playing a tournament - I never thought it was going to take this long."
On his rivalry with Rafael Nadal and Djokovic, who today overtakes his record of 310 weeks as world No. 1, Federer felt the legacy of the "Big Three" in men's tennis was "a great debate to have".
"I think what Novak and Rafa have done of late is extraordinary - they're not 25 either," he said with a smile.
"Novak did it in Australia, Rafa did it at the French - they seem at their peak which is great for tennis and for the debate. My concern is my own health, my own game (more) than the record.
"The guys are unreal, I hope they keep on going and can do everything they possibly want - you want to leave the game with no regrets, and in that respect, we all sleep very well at night."
Federer, who holds the record for the most Slams in men's tennis alongside Nadal at 20, added that while "expectations are really low" for his Qatar campaign, he hoped to surprise himself.
"Obviously, I'm confident otherwise, I wouldn't put myself in this situation," he said ahead of his first match, which will be either tomorrow or on Wednesday. "In a vision, I see myself with the trophy."
The complications that followed his knee operations have also motivated him to get back in form.
"What I knew is regardless of whether I came back or not, for my life, I wanted to do this rehab anyhow," he said.
"I feel there is still something - retirement was never really on the cards. I don't mind doing rehab."
Looking ahead, the world No. 5 is aiming to be back to "100 per cent" for Wimbledon, which was axed last year, in June but he has yet to decide on other tournaments, including the Olympics - the only thing missing from his collection of titles is a singles gold medal.
"It's still building up to being fitter, better, faster," he said."I'll see about Dubai... then we'll see about the clay-court season."
Elsewhere, Czech Petra Kvitova thrashed Spain's Garbine Muguruza 6-2, 6-1 to win her second WTA Qatar Open title on Saturday.
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