Roger Federer adds Dubai to his comeback schedule

The 20-time Major champion Roger Federer hasn't played since the last year's Australian Open, struggling with a knee injury and undergoing two knee surgeries in February and May.

Roger returned to the practice court in October and trained in Dubai in December, doing his best to recover in time for the Australian Open. The Swiss couldn't get at 100% in time for the season's first Major, staying on the practice court and announcing Doha as his first comeback event. Roger will compete at the ATP 250 event in the second week of March, facing solid rivals en route to the title and hoping to gather momentum after the most extended break of his career.

As was expected, Roger has added the ATP 500 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in the following week, returning to one of his favorite events for the first time in two years and seeking the ninth title. In 2019, Roger defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 in 70 minutes in the title match, celebrating the 100th ATP title and becoming the second Open era player to achieve that after Jimmy Connors.

Federer stayed aggressive and controlled the apce, stealing the youngster's serve once in each set to forge the advantage and move over the top in style. Dominic Thiem, Denis Shapovalov, Andrey Rublev and Matteo Berrettini should stand between Federer and his ninth Dubai trophy.