Tennis legend Roger Federer made his great comeback after a 13-month break.
He had two operations on his right knee since playing at the Australian Open last year and decided to get back into the swing of things and play in the Qatar Open.
Federer beat Dan Evans 7-6 (8), 3-6, 7-5, but said it feels like he has been gone for ages.
“It feels like I have been away for even longer than I actually have been”.
He also admitted he’s not at 100 per cent yet.
“I’m not 100% yet,” he said. “I can feel it. I can see it, you know. From that standpoint, important is to be 100% by the grass court season. I know that. I’m still building up. So this is a steppingstone.”
The match went for nearly two and a half hours, and the tennis great admitted he was tired by the end of it.
“I was very happy with how I was able to handle the tough moments. I didn’t feel like my game started to wobble the more important the points got. I think I was able to play how I wanted to play, so I think that’s always a great sign and a great feeling to have,” Federer said in a post-match video conference.
“In practice, it doesn’t matter if you miss a backhand down the line, being down break point,” he said. “But here it matters a lot.”
Dan Evans had no bad blood despite losing to Federer, as he can’t wait to see what happens next for him.
“From a fan’s point of view, it’s going to be interesting to see how he goes at his age — he’s 39, and that’s obviously unheard of, that someone is still competing for Grand Slams at that age,” said Evans.
“It’s going to be real good to watch for everybody, to see what happens, see if he wins. I think most people would hope he wins another, probably, Wimbledon,” Evans said. “We’d all be pretty pumped if he got over the line at another Slam.”
This article originally appeared on Over60.