DUBAI // Roger Federer said on Sunday he hopes to use the tournament at the Aviation Club this week as the launching pad for a solid season in which he has decided to try to freshen up a few things.
First, though, he wants to make sure he gets enough matches in Dubai as he has not played since losing to Andreas Seppi in the third round of the Australian Open last month.
“I know it is going to be tough as I’ve had a long break, one of the longer ones I’ve had in many years,” said Federer, who will open his title defence against Russian Mikhail Youzhny on Monday.
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“But it was necessary as I did feel that I was playing a lot of tennis in the last six to eight months and I couldn’t take the necessary rest that I wanted to take at the end of the season because of the Davis Cup.
“There is a bit more uncertainty maybe going into a tournament after a long break, but at the same time you come back refreshed and might take that one or two matches to really get going.”
Federer has decided to change his schedule a little this year in an attempt to remain fresh by skipping next month’s Miami Masters, which he last won in 2006, and play instead at the Istanbul Open, the first ATP World Tour event to be held in Turkey, in April.
“I want to go to Turkey and play in Istanbul,” he said. “I have heard unbelievable things about the city and I said ‘OK, I will at least get enough matches going into the clay court season’, and that’s my trade off for the French Open and Wimbledon later.”
First, he acknowledges he has to get back to form after the disappointment in Australia.
“This is my first match after the Seppi match and I know that I need to play well here, and at the same time stay healthy and motivated moving forward,” Federer said.
“I guess being happy in your personal life also helps. It is so much easier to travel the road and all that, so that you can play tennis. It makes things so much more easy. You practise and then you go to play matches at the end of the day, and that is why I am here.”
He revealed that his defeat to Seppi had an unusual aftermath.
“It actually gave me more time off and I’ve got to be thankful to Seppi,” he said.
“That night I celebrated with champagne with my team, thanking Seppi as I had got nine days extra off. That’s how I see it. You get some additional time for practice as well so that I can be hopeful of coming back stronger.
“That’s the goal I have after a loss like that. You don’t start questioning anything. You just find out ways how to bounce back as quick as possible and as strong as possible. I have actually been playing quite well if you look at the results for the past six months or so.”
arizvi@thenational.ae
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