Fit-again Federer raring to go in Dubai

Dubai: Roger Federer is back from an injury-ravaged 2016 and looks to add an eighth Dubai title to his trophy cabinet at next month’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.

The Swiss was unable to feature in Dubai last year due to a knee-injury that required surgery.

Then a persistent lower back issue as well as continuing problems with his knee led to him taking a lengthy break after Wimbledon to recover.

Despite playing just seven tournaments last year, Federer still set a number of records. He tied Jimmy Connors’ total of 84 wins and 11 semi-finals at Wimbledon, and defeated Florian Mayer in the Stuttgart quarters in June for his 1,072nd win to pass Ivan Lendl for the second-most wins in the Open Era behind the 1,256 wins of Connors.

He also earned a record-extending 300th Grand Slam win of his career in the third round of the Australian Open, where he reached his 12th Australian Open semi-final. And he almost won a title in Brisbane before his injury problems arose, finishing as a runner-up to Milos Raonic.

Despite his failure to win a title for the first time since 2000 and a consequent slip in the rankings, there was a positive from his absence as he got to spend more time with his family.

“I think it was really exciting and good for us to have that time,” he said. “All of a sudden I could be organised and say ‘Okay, we’re going to be four weeks at home in a row in the same place. Who do you want to go to dinner with, Mirka? Or who shall we catch up with?’”

Another positive is that any thoughts the 35-year old might have had about retiring have been dismissed.

“My last hurrah could take years, depending on the perspective. Yes, I hope there is again a real hurrah. Otherwise I would not have taken such a long break. I would have come back half-fit after a few months and would have played something. But when I knew I would have to miss the Olympics and the US Open, I said: ‘Come on, now we do it right.’ That will be good for my body, maybe even after my career. Such a long break once in 20 years is okay.”

The 25th staging of the ATP World Tour event takes place from February 27 and Federer will compete in a field that features World No. 1 Andy Murray, Australian, French and US Open winner and Dubai defending champion Stan Wawrinka, two-time Dubai runner-up Tomas Berdych and flamboyant Frenchman Gael Monfils.

Action gets under way first with the WTA event from February 19 that features eight of the world’s top 10, including world No. 1 Angelique Kerber, reigning French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, 2017 Brisbane winner Karolina Pliskova, 2017 Sydney champion Johanna Konta and former Dubai winners Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki.

Tickets are available from the box office at Dubai Tennis Stadium in Garhoud open daily from 9am to 9pm. Tickets are also available online through http://www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com/en/tickets for further information visit www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com.