Roger Federer will make his first competitive appearance since March at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, as the 20-time Grand Slam champion begins his preparations for Wimbledon.
Federer has not played since his shock defeat to Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Miami Open, after he opted to miss the clay court season for a second consecutive year, while Rafael Nadal won titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome before securing a record-extending 11th French Open.
The 36-year-old, who is scheduled to complete his Wimbledon build-up at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle next week – a tournament he has won nine times – will hope to avoid a repeat of last year’s opening-match defeat to Tommy Haas.
“I’m back again and I’ll give my best to go deeper this year.
“It’s not always that easy, especially on grass,” Federer, who also suffered a semi-final defeat in 2016 to eventual champion Dominic Thiem, said ahead of the tournament.
“The rallies are short, a few points decide them. It was like that two years ago against Dominic Thiem and last year I lost against Tommy Haas after having a match point.
“When it’s wet it gets slippery pretty quick and you are afraid to slip. Once you play timidly all the good practice was for nothing and your good game is gone.
“In the last two years I lost against good players, so it also always depends on your opponent. The grass doesn’t only look good, but is really perfect.”