Thiem on Federer return 'I still love watching him play'

Dominic Thiem is ready to welcome Roger Federer back to the tour admitting that he still really loves watching him play.

Roger Federer is set to come back to the ATP Tour at the ATP Qatar Open in Doha this week where Dominic Thiem is the highest seed. Speaking ahead of the event the Austrian ace admitted he is more than ready to welcome him back:

“We are rivals, and of course we want to beat each other in the tournament, [but] I still really love to watch him play tennis. [He] looks so nice, the way he plays, the way he approaches the game of tennis."

Thiem, like many others, can't wait for Roger to step back onto the court as he is almost universally beloved in the tennis world. His absence was noted in the past year and many fans of his can't wait for his return. For Thiem, the admiration started a long time ago when he looked up to Federer as a youngster. He once again reiterated that he was happy about Roger being back:

“On the one hand, I'm also a big fan of his still, and that's why I really love that he's back and that I can watch him again. That's what pretty much everybody is thinking, and I hope that he's coming back strong, as well.”

Turning his attention to the event itself Thiem admitted it is a very strong one featuring a tough draw. It will be his first match in almost a month so he is aware of the natural difficulties that will arise:

“It's going to be my first tournament and [my] first match [in almost] a month, since [a] pretty devastating loss. I needed some time to digest everything, to analyse everything [and] to settle down a little bit.

He continued by saying that it's time to focus on new things and the future:

“Now it's time to focus on new things. The tournament in Doha is the first chance to play better again, to get good results, to get confidence and to forget [a] pretty tough start of the season.”