'Roger Federer's really doing it because he thinks...', says legend

During his very long career, which officially began way back in 1998, the Swiss Roger Federer has achieved 1242 victories against only 271 defeats, with a success rate of over 80%. In singles he earned almost 130 million dollars, second only to Serbian Novak Djokovic (with 147 million). Roger won 103 ATP titles and occupies the second position in this special ranking, still led by the American Jimmy Connors (at 109). With his 20 Grand Slam trophies, the Swiss is now forced to share his record with arch rival Rafael Nadal, who last October at Roland Garros marked his thirteenth seal on clay in Paris. Roger Federer's last ATP Tour event was last year's Australian Open, where he made it to the semi-finals before being beaten by Djokovic in three sets. The champion's return will take place in a few weeks at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, scheduled for March 8-13. Federer holds the record for tournament victories, having triumphed here on three occasions (2005, 2006 and 2011). Last year the Russian Andrei Rublev won against Corentin Moutet, with a score of 6-2 7-6. On the occasion of his return to Qatar, Uniqlo presented the suit that the champion from Basel will show off in the prestigious ATP 250: in the images we see two shirts, one dark green and the other white, with green on the sleeves. Absent the famous “RF” logo, which instead appears on the two caps (it is possible that Federer will return to wear it starting from Wimbledon). After the Doha round, King Roger's participation in the Dubai Tennis Championships cannot be ruled out, where he also boasts the record of successes (eight, between 2003 and 2019). Roger Federer's comeback is being eagerly awaited by millions across the world. The 20-time Grand Slam champion is scheduled to return to the men's tour in early March, after more than a year on the sidelines. Former World No. 2 Michael Stich believes that a ninth Wimbledon title would serve as the perfect setting for Federer to announce his retirement.

Stich on Roger Federer

"You should never write Roger Federer off because he is a player who has a gifted set of skills that help him to still play tennis that good at his age," Michael Stich said. "But especially at Wimbledon, Roger Federer is certainly still a candidate for the title, because there he has this mental strength, because there he has the greatest joy." Stich also asserted that Federer has nothing left to prove, and that he is only returning because he believes he can still win titles. "Roger Federer has nothing to lose," Stich went on. "He doesn't have to prove anything to himself, he doesn't have to prove anything to the fans out there. He's really doing it because he thinks he can still win titles."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3q64XYd