Federer ready for return in Stuttgart grass

Roger Federer makes his long-awaited return to action this week at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, competing for the first time since Miami in March. And right away, there is a lot on the line for the Swiss. If the top seed reaches the final, he will regain the No. 1 spot in the ATP Rankings on 18 June.

“I think that’s a bit of extra motivation,” said Federer, who trails Nadal by 100 points. “But then again, having lost here last year in the first round, for me, it resets the goals as well, and just take it one at a time and don’t think too far ahead. Not that I did that last year, but on grass, margins are very slim. It’s not so simple, especially when you haven’t played in three months.”

Despite his reign of dominance on grass, posting an Open Era best 164-24 record (.872) in the ATP, he acknowledges the challenges that the ATP World Tour 250 event poses.

“It’s not always that easy, especially on grass,” Federer said ahead of the tournament. “The rallies are short, a few points decide them. It was like that two years ago against Dominic Thiem and last year I lost against Tommy Haas after having a match point.”

The World No. 2 is making his third straight tournament appearance, having reached the semi-finals in 2016 (l. to Thiem) and suffered a first-round exit in 2017 (l. to Haas). But he then went on to triumph at Halle and Wimbledon, building what would turn into a 16-match winning streak.

“I came back very strong and my reaction was very good after losing here against Tommy,” Federer said. “I didn’t drop a set for the rest of the grass-court season, which I was very happy about. So I just hope I can find my rhythm and range a bit earlier. But very excited to be here. I’m motivated because of all these reasons. It’s been a while, I haven’t played matches, so I’m happy. Obviously I don’t want to be on a three-match losing streak. I want to break that as well.”

“I’m back again and I’ll give my best to go deeper this year,” Federer added. “We will see how it goes in the first match. It’ll be my first match in three months, so I’m missing some match practice. I think the grass is better than in the past years. Let’s hope for some better weather.”

More than anything, Federer is excited to get back on the court for match action again. He will play Mischa Zverev, who he has beaten in all five of their previous ATP Head to Head meetings, on Wednesday.

“I’m fresh, I’m healthy,” Federer said. “That’s why I’m happy and confident to be here that things can turn out very well for me this week.”

Date: 11 June 2018, Source: ATP