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The legend is back: Roger Federer won his first game after a break of more than a year
Photo: Mohamed Farag / Getty Images
Roger Federer has successfully reported back on the tennis tour.
The Swiss won his first match after a break of more than a year at the ATP tournament in Doha 7: 6 (10: 8), 3: 6, 7: 5 against the British Daniel Evans.
After 2:24 hours he made it to the quarter-finals and met the Georgian Nikolos Bassilashvili.
In the first round, the 39-year-old had a bye.
In some situations, Federer's lack of competitive practice was noticeable.
Every time a point was won, the audience's favorite was celebrated by the fans, and a limited number of spectators were allowed.
“It feels good to be back.
It was a great match, it was a lot of fun.
I'm just happy, ”said Federer.
“In the end I was really tired, Dan had more energy.
Coming back at my age is not easy.
But it's worth it."
Federer has not played an official match since the beginning of February 2020 because of knee surgery, 405 days ago.
At that time he failed in the semifinals of the Australian Open against the Serb Novak Djokovic.
The lawn specialist's main goal is Wimbledon, where he has won eight of his 20 Grand Slam titles to date.
The tournament was canceled last year due to the corona crisis, this year it is to take place from June 28th to July 11th.
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hba / dpa / sid