The news was in the air but now there is no doubt. Roger Federer, as reported, will start the 2021 season with the ATP 250 in Doha, scheduled for March 8, and he will continue with the ATP 500 in Dubai.
This is the latest big news regarding the Swiss tennis player’s next lineup with the UAE tournament starting on March 15th. In Dubai, there will be among others Dominic Thiem, Andrey Rublev, Gael Monls, Denis Shapovalov and many other members of the Top 20.
The Swiss champion’s last match dates back to January 30, 2020, when he was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. In an interview with Fox Sports, Rod Laver referred to Roger Federer’s record as a reason to consider him the greatest – not only of this era, but of all eras.
Rod Laver on Roger Federer
With Roger Federer sidelined from the Australian Open with a knee injury, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have both qualified for the quarter-finals and could add to their records this week.
“Give the others a little more time, maybe they can measure themselves and be as good as Roger,” said Rod Laver. “Djokovic is definitely on the right track (with Nadal), because he has won a lot of tournaments and his consistency is amazing”
Roger Federer has been out of the circuit for almost a year, and is expected to return early next month for the Doha event. On Monday, it was announced that the 39-year-old had also entered the ATP 500 series in Dubai, the week following Doha.
“Roger Federer, when I spoke to him last year, he thought he was playing his best until he was 40 and I think he’s almost there,” Laver said. “Unfortunately, his knee is giving him a hard time.
So he had knee surgery which will put him in a better position. ”Although Doha is a small ATP event, it has long attracted an elite entry list.
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have both won the Qatar ExxonMobile Open twice, Rafael Nadal once, and Federer lifted the Golden Falcon trophy three times.
The peloton is made up of 10 Top 20 members, including world number three Dominic Thiem, defending champion Andrey Rublev, Gael Monfils, Stan Wawrinka and Denis Shapovalov.
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