Roger Federer returned to competitive action for the first time since January 2020 with a hard fought win in three sets over British No.1 Dan Evans at the Qatar Open.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner, 40, overcame Evans 7-6 (10-8) 3-6 7-5 to reach the quarter finals of the tournament in Doha.
Federer began well, producing some of his trademark one-handed backhands that have served him so well in the past, as Evans struggled to deal them.
Evans didn’t fall apart though, taking the former World No.1 to a tie breaker. The Brit got to 8-8 in the tie break, but Federer pulled through, going 9-8 up before breaking Evans’ serve to take the first set with a brilliant cross court backhand.
The second set saw Federer start to falter, as he went 3-1 down in a matter of minutes, as Evans began to turn up the heat. The Brit will have been glad to see a Federer shot land long as he levelled the match, taking the second set in some style.
Situations like these never seem to faze Federer and that was proven after himself and Evans could not be separated until 6-5 to the Swiss on the Brit’s serve, when Federer forced his way to 15-40, rounding off his winning return to tennis with none other than a backhand down the line, Evans watching both the ball and the game pass him by.
After the match, Federer, a three-time winner of the Qatar Open, admitted that he felt happy about his return, but still felt some slight problems regarding his injury.
“It feels good to be back. It’s good to be standing here regardless of whether I won or lost, it’s great fun.
“I don’t know if it was ever completely pain-free,” he added. “You get to feel tired and you don’t know if it’s the muscle.
“What’s important is how I feel tomorrow and the next day for the next six months.”
Federer now goes on to play Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvil, who beat Malek Jaziri 6-2 6-2, in the last eight.
