A year after withdrawing from the Kooyong Classic with a mystery virus, world number two Roger Federer returned on Tuesday and declared himself fit and ready to finalise his Australian Open preparations.
Federer was forced out of the invitational eight-man field at the Kooyong Club in suburban Melbourne last January with what later transpired to be glandular fever, an illness that affected his form for much of the first half of last year.
He lost in the semifinals of the Australian Open to eventual champion Novak Djokovic and also ceded the number one world ranking that he had held for a record 237 weeks to Spain’s Rafael Nadal last August.
A back injury in the second half of the year also restricted his performances but he still managed to win his fifth successive US Open at Flushing Meadows.
”I’m feeling really good,” the 27-year-old Swiss told a news conference when asked about his health. ”I was feeling quite bad here last year, which is why I couldn’t play.
”It’s why I’m really happy to be part of it this year. It’s a great tournament and I love playing here because it is great preparation for me for the Australian Open.” — Reuters