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TENNIS

Tennis: Federer back on form with win in Rome

Roger Federer made a winning return to the clay after last week's back pain, with the Swiss icon beating German teenager Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-5 in the second round of the Rome Masters on Wednesday.

Tennis: Federer back on form with win in Rome
Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

The match, lasting 89 minutes, was the first for the 34-year-old Swiss since losing a Monte Carlo quarterfinal to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga nearly a month ago.
   
The 17-time Grand Slam winner was due to play last week in Madrid but withdrew with back pain. He came to Rome early to train, drawing 6,000 fans to a weekend practice session.
   
He has laid low in recent days, declining pre-match media responsibilities as he waited to let his racket speak for him.
   
Federer is playing at the Foro Italico for the 16th time as he seeks his first title here. The Swiss has finished runner-up four times, most recently last year against Novak Djokovic.
   
Rome marks only the fourth tournament of the season for Federer, who underwent knee surgery in early February, the first operation of his career.
   
Victory over Zverev sent Federer's record in 2016 to 11-3. He next plays promising young Austrian 13th seed Dominic Thiem, who defeated Portugal's Joao Sousa 6-3, 6-2.
   
Zverev, aged 19 and ranked 44th, could not have asked for a more challenging Rome debut as he faced off against his tennis idol.

His loss left him 0-8 against top 10 opponents.
   
Federer broke for 4-2 on his way to collecting the opening set in 28 minutes.
   
The Swiss then earned a break in the third game of the second set but then lost serve for 2-all.
   
The veteran broke back on his fourth opportunity in the 11th game for a 6-5 lead and finished off the welcome win a game later, a drop shot setting up two match points with Zverev driving wide on the first.

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ROGER FEDERER

Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?

Roger Federer is talking optimistically about returning to his "highest level" after knee surgery, but does tennis have to start adjusting to a future without the Swiss star?

Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?
Is it the end of the line for Roger? Photo: Martin BUREAU / AFP

The 20-time Grand Slam winner announced on Wednesday that he would be sidelined until 2021 after his second operation in a matter of months.

Federer remains upbeat, tweeting: “I plan to take the necessary time to be 100 percent ready to play at my highest level.”

In some ways 2020 is a good season to miss after the coronavirus ravaged the tennis schedule. Writing Federer off in the past has proved dangerous.

He returned from a six-month injury lay-off to claim the Australian Open in 2017, winning his eighth Wimbledon crown later that year.

But he will be 40 in 2021 and is now heading into uncharted territory.

Despite his groaning trophy cabinet, there are two factors that will motivate Federer to keep going — the risk of losing his grip on the men's Grand Slam title record and a missing Olympics singles gold medal.

Rafael Nadal has 19 majors, just one shy of Federer's mark and Djokovic has 17.

Spain's Nadal will be fancied to draw level with Federer at the French Open, rescheduled for September, while few would bet against Djokovic winning in New York weeks earlier.

In April, Federer said he was “devastated” when Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since World War II. Last year he fell agonisingly short at the All England Club, failing to convert two championship points on his own serve against Djokovic.

The Wimbledon grass probably remains his best chance of adding to his Grand Slam collection — he has not won the US Open since 2008 and his only title at Roland Garros came in 2009.

Even though Federer has slipped from the very pinnacle of the game, he is still a major threat to Nadal and Djokovic.

'Golden' ambitions

Last year, the world number four had a 53-10 win-loss record and he reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January in his only tournament this year.

Federer, who is still six ATP titles short of Jimmy Connors' all-time record of 109, has one glaring omission from his CV — the Olympic title.

The Swiss won doubles gold in Beijing in 2008 with compatriot Stan Wawrinka but lost in the singles final to Andy Murray in London four years later.

The postponed Tokyo Games will almost certainly be Federer's last opportunity to complete a career “golden” Grand Slam — he will turn 40 on the day of the closing ceremony next year.

Tennis will feel the loss of the elegant Federer keenly when he walks off the court for the last time.

Djokovic and Nadal have been the dominant forces in recent years but the Swiss remains the biggest draw and last month topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-earning athletes.

His last appearance on court was in front of nearly 52,000 fans — touted by organisers as a world record for tennis — at a charity match against Nadal in Cape Town in February.

Federer is nearly always the crowd favourite wherever he plays and has proved a perfect ambassador for the sport since he won his first Grand Slam title in 2003.

He certainly expects to be back and competitive next year.

“I will be missing my fans and the tour dearly but I will look forward to seeing everyone back on tour at the start of the 2021 season,” he tweeted.

The avalanche of support from his adoring fans showed they would miss him too, but they will have to get used to a time when he is gone for good.

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