Federer "still a work in progress" as he gets set to begin Doha return

Roger Federer will have his first experience of pandemic tennis this week as he returns in Doha, saying that so far he's just been following the game like anyone else.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion has been off for more than a year and, just months away from turning 40, is coming back from two surgeries on his right knee.

"It’s not like for one particular reason why I wanted to keep on playing tennis, other than I enjoy playing tennis. I enjoy being on the road," he said, speaking to press prior to starting play in Doha. "I’m still a work in progress. But probably, one of the other reasons is that I would like to get that high again, playing against the best players, playing in the biggest tournaments."

Federer returns to a circuit quite different from when he left, as there are several established safety protocols and restrictions in place at events during the coronavirus pandemic.

"I'll have to see what it's like now, with the quarantine, masks, travel difficulties. And] with the therapy," he told journalists from Switzerland, [as quoted by Tages Anzeiger.

Federer played the Australian Open and a charity match in South Africa in 2020 before undergoing knee surgery, followed by a second procedure in a few months when he started having more pain and swelling in the knee.

"The knee just acted up," he said. "The doctor said, 'Sorry, we need a second operation.' Unfortunately there was no way around it."

The long layoff from the first surgery followed by the second meant he had to rebuild his physical fitness almost from scratch, said Federer, adding, "I didn't play tennis for months. When I had the second operation, I had to walk on crutches for another two weeks, there weren't many muscles left."

Injury troubles aside, Federer—like others—also had to get used to changes brought on by the pandemic.

"I think I experienced it like everyone else," he said. "In Switzerland it took longer before there was a mask requirement on public transport. It wasn't always easy. At first I thought, 'Selfies with masks, that's going too far.' But if someone comes today, I say, 'Sorry, I have to keep on my mask.'"

But he was just away from tour, not the game itself.

"I watched quite a lot," he said. "I mean, I’m not just spending hours and hours in front of the TV watching all the matches, but a lot of highlights... I go check scores every single day, every hour to know what’s going on in challengers and futures. Even in the doubles. I enjoy the sport and I cannot look the other way."

He also followed behind-the-scenes developments as the tour first shut down and then started again during the pandemic, with changes to the schedule, ranking system and prize money levels as events were cancelled or frequently played with no fans.

"I think being involved in the ATP [Player] Council and seeing it was hard to start the tour up again was big because switching off the engine is easy. But turning it on was a huge effort from the tournament directors," he said.

"The players are going through a really hard time on the tour."

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Federer also touched on Novak Djokovic's default at the US Open, and the Adria Tour which Federer called "too soon," but an attempt to do something good.

"He had unbelievable bad luck at the US Open. Everyone knows that. Of course you have to control yourself. But that can happen to almost anyone if you get emotional for a moment," he said.

Djokovic, who has just broken Federer's record for weeks at No. 1, has also recently helped start a player group called the PTPA, which led to the ATP demanding that he and some other members no longer sit on the ATP Player Council. Djokovic has objected to the moves but has left the council.

Federer agreed that being part of both groups was difficult but added that he would keep looking for their input.

"We have to look at that again together. You don't always have to be of the same opinion. But it is important that you exchange ideas," said Federer.

Still, his attention is now back on tennis. The world No. 6 is keeping expectations low for this event and next week in Dubai, saying he is free of pain but lacking match toughness, though he has played 20 sets in practice in two weeks.

"[The] biggest challenge is just to trust yourself 100 percent again, trust in the capabilities of your body," he noted to English-speaking journalists. "The pain is completely, completely under control. It’s good, compared to where I was four or five months ago.

"I can actually play, you know, five days straight to two and a half hours."

Federer is the second seed at Doha and starts in the second round on Wednesday, against Daniel Evans.