Sticking to a limited schedule has helped Roger Federer enjoy a renaissance late in his career but the Swiss says rest time is now over and he is looking forward to returning to action at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart.
Federer, 35, was ruled out for six months last year as he recovered from a knee injury but made a winning return this season at the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami before opting out of the entire clay-court season.
The former world No 1 is eager to get back to competition in 2017 after a 10-week lay-off.
“There are no more breaks now,” Federer told the ATP’s official website. “I’ve had enough breaks. I’m a practice world champion now and that’s not who I want to be. I want to be a champ on the match courts.
“So I’m going to be playing a regular schedule for the second part of the season. And this is the beginning here at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart.”
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From Ahmed Rizvi
■ Talking points: Nadal in hunt of Federer's record
■ Comment: Federer's dream start to 2017 can continue
__________________________________
During Federer’s absence, Rafael Nadal won four clay tournaments, culminating in Sunday’s French Open victory, and Federer said the Spaniard could finish the year on top of the world rankings.
“Obviously Rafa is in great position to finish world No 1. For him it’s going to be all about staying injury free,” he added. “For me it’s about getting back to winning ways, where I left off in Miami.”
Federer said he expected Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Kei Nishikori and Stan Wawrinka to step up their game in the second half of the season.
“It’s going to be an epic finish to the end of the season. Quite exciting actually for the ATP Tour.”
Federer will play either Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert or German Tommy Haas in the second round at Stuttgart on Wednesday.
* Reuters
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
F1 The Movie
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Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
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Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets