Normally a 250 series event in Doha, Qatar is not very noteworthy at the beginning of March. However this year is different because the great Roger Federer of Basel, Switzerland was competing in his first event since the 2020 Australian Open.
It has been quite the road for Federer, as he has battled multiple knee surgeries over the last 14 months. In Doha this week, Federer got a bye to the second round, as he was seeded second in the tournament (only behind 2020 United States Open Champion Dominic Thiem of Austria), and defeated Daniel Evans of Great Britain 7-6, 3-6, 7-5. However in the quarterfinals, Federer lost a tight three-setter to Nikoloz Bashilashvili of Georgia, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5.
With significant tennis events coming up in Dubai and Miami, many tennis fans are hopeful they will get to see more of Federer at the ATP 500 and 1000 levels respectively. Unfortunately for Fed fans, not so fast. That is because on Thursday Federer announced he was withdrawing from Dubai after previously announcing his withdrawal from Miami at the end of March according to Adam Zagoria of Forbes. He feels he needs to train further in order to be in better shape for tournaments.
The focus for Federer is simple. That is to be 100% healthy for the tournament where he has been absolutely dominant over the years, and that is the third major on the grand slam calendar, Wimbledon. It is the prestigious grass court event that Federer has won a record eight times and is seeking his ninth at age 39.
There is another significant event this summer that Federer is expected to make a priority. That will be the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Federer has won a gold medal in men’s doubles, but never before in men’s singles.
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