'At this point in his career, Roger Federer wouldn’t get back...', says former ace

• Tennis News
• Roger Federer

It seems like an eternity has passed since his last match: it was January 30, 2020 when he lost the semi-final of the Australian Open to Novak Djokovic. Then, two operations on the right knee and a stop of over thirteen months.

Now Roger Federer is ready to return to the ATP circuit: his new (or rather, yet another) tennis life restarts next week from the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. The Swiss champion posted a video on his social channels before boarding the plane, to greet his fans and show his mood.

“It's been a year since my last trip and I'm really thrilled - Federer's words -. At this moment I would like to thank all the people involved in the recovery process that allowed me to restart ”. Roger restarts, in fact, from Doha: the Qatari tournament is usually played in the first week of the year and it is here that Federer, in the first phase of his career, often opened his seasons.

He boasts a record of 26 wins and 3 losses and has lifted the trophy three times: in 2005, 2006 and 2011. The Swiss, however, has not played in Doha since 2012. Now, following the restructuring of the post calendar. Covid, Federer returns to Qatar to play the ATP 250 in the second week of March, with the intention of going to Dubai for the ATP 500 to be held the following week.

With the draw for the draw scheduled today at 13, the name of his first opponent will be known. Tommy Haas needs no introduction to tennis fans. A former World No. 2, a 15-time ATP title winner, a silver medallist at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and a multiple Grand Slam semifinalist - Haas has pretty covered the whole gamut of tennis accomplishments.

In a recent interview with Sportskeeda, The German talked about Roger Federer's return on tour.

Haas on Roger Federer's comeback to the tour

"We all can’t wait for Roger Federer to be back on tour competing, as I am certain he is very much looking forward to it himself.

And I think at this point in his career, he wouldn’t get back out there unless he thought he truly had a chance to compete for titles and win. I think he’ll be selective about his schedule, but if he is healthy come Wimbledon, the Olympics and the US Open, I would never count him out" - Tommy Haas explained.

Besides the Big 3, which players do you think can win a Grand Slam in 2021? And which players, according to you, are likely to dominate the game after the Big 3 retire? "I think there are a number of players who could be in that conversation.

Dominic Thiem, obviously, has shown himself capable by winning the US Open last year. Daniil Medvedev is certainly very close, having been to two finals already. And Alexander Zverev now has the experience as well on that stage after New York last year.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev - certainly they belong in the conversation as well. It will be exciting to see who steps up when opportunities present themselves, but I am looking forward to some very exciting years of tennis ahead of us."