Roger Federer to headline “Battle of the World No.1s” at Australian Open’s inaugural Opening Ceremony

The 40-year-old underwent a third procedure on his right knee following Wimbledon, having already had surgery twice in the first half of 2020 and another procedure on his left knee in 2016.

Federer indicated he is not yet back in training, saying he "wants to get back to conditioning and the court as soon as possible" and has to take it "step by step," but also sounded eager about the "challenge" of coming back.

"When you come back from an injury, every day is a better day. An exciting time," he said. "It's not a problem mentally."

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Federer went 9-4 this season, reaching the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in his most recent appearance (l. to Hubert Hurkacz).

The 20-time Grand Slam champion has been keeping an eye on the game during his layoff, saying it was nice to have Rod Laver watching Novak Djokovic's bid to complete the Grand Slam from the stands at the US Open, even though the Serb was defeated by Daniil Medvedev.

"But what Novak did this year was of course truly exceptional," he said.

He is also on the sidelines for Laver Cup event this week, the first time he hasn't played the event since starting it three years ago. That "hurts a lot," said Federer, but he would like to play when it takes place next season in London.

"It's one of my goals that I really get back into it in order to come back and play there," he said.

Federer last triumph came at his home event at Basel in 2019.