Mats Wilander says Roger Federer’s love for tennis is the greatest he has seen from any player on the Tour in his life.
The 39-year-old Swiss Maestro is set to return to action later this week after spending more than a year away from the sport due to a right knee injury. Last year he underwent two surgeries with the second procedure taking place after the first failed to produce the desired results. Federer’s comeback bid is taking place less than six months before he turns 40. He is the oldest player in the top 100.
The return of the former world No.1 has been hailed by the Swedish tennis great who compared his love for the sport with that of Rafael Nadal. Both players have won a record 20 Grand Slam titles so far in their careers.
“The fact that he returns at almost 40 shows the incredible passion that drives him. I’ve never seen anyone who loves tennis as much as Roger Federer. Nadal has a love for the competition, but Federer loves the game,” Wilander wrote in his column for L’Equipe.
Elaborating further, Wilander says the world No.6 is showing that he is not afraid of harming his image with his latest comeback amid uncertainty over how he may play. Federer has won 103 ATP titles so far in his career which is the second highest in the Open Era after Jimmy Connors. Speaking to reporters over the weekend he insisted that retirement is currently not on the cards because he feels ‘the story is not over.’
“This comeback shows that Roger has guts. He is not afraid of losing 6-1 6-1 against a rookie and damaging his image, many would be while Federer only thinks about solving his problems,” said Wilander.
Inevitably there will be comparisons to Federer’s last comeback from injury. He missed the second half of the 2016 season due to a knee problem before returning to the Tour at the start of the following year by winning the Australian Open. Although the chances of such a dream return happening again has been played down by both Federer and his team. It has already been stated that their goal is to reach full throttle in time for the Wimbledon Championships.
“For his first comeback, in 2017, he had reinvented a way of playing. He had decided to stay on the baseline, which meant playing fewer forehands (for lack of time to get around his backhand) and hitting his backhands, not hitting them for effect. An extraordinary performance when mastering the one-handed backhand. With a clear strategy: shorten the duration of the exchanges, conquer the net and make the opponent uncomfortable,” Wilander analysed.
“I don’t know if this time he has invented a new concept, but I guess it remains in the same logic: for his return, the main question will revolve around his speed of travel. Will he have the legs to defend as well as he did in the past?”
Federer is the second seed at the Qatar Open in Doha this week. Granted a bye in the first round, he will play his first match against either Dan Evans or Jeremy Chardy.
