After more than a year out, Roger Federer started his 24th season on tour with a win.<\/p>\n
It was far from easy for the former No. 1, though, as he was pushed hard by Dan Evans at the Qatar Open before winning the second-round match 7-6 (8) 3-6 7-5 on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
It was Federer's first match in 405 days after having knee surgery following the 2020 Australian Open.<\/p>\n
"Feels good to be back," Federer said in an on-court interview. "I'm happy to be standing here regardless of if I won or lost. But obviously winning feels better."<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Playing for nearly two and a half hours tested the 39-year-old Swiss player's stamina following his long break. Federer saved a set point at 6-5 down in the first-set tiebreaker and saved two break points at 3-3 in the deciding set before sealing the win with a break of Evans' serve.<\/p>\n
He showed flashes of his usual brilliance along the way, clinching the first set with a perfect cross-court backhand winner as Evans charged into the net. Having failed to convert a match point at 5-4 in the decider, he used another backhand down the line to clinch the win on his second attempt.<\/p>\n
Federer said he used Evans as a training partner as he prepared for his comeback, playing more than 20 sets against the Briton in the previous weeks.<\/p>\n
"It has been a long and tough road for me. I enjoyed it though," the 20-time Grand Slam champion said. "It has been a huge challenge of mine in my tennis career and to come back at my age is not something that is very simple."<\/p>\n
https:\/\/twitter.com\/christophclarey\/status\/1369695496500109316?s=20<\/a><\/p>\n Federer will play Nikoloz Basilashvili in the quarter-finals after the Georgian beat Malek Jaziri 6-2 6-2.<\/p>\n Top-seeded Dominic Thiem rallied to beat Australian Open semifinalist Aslan Karatsev 6-7 (5) 6-3 6-2 for a place in the quarters.<\/p>\n Thiem's next opponent is fifth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut, who didn't face a single break point in his 6-4 6-3 win against Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan.<\/p>\n Third-seeded Andrey Rublev advanced without taking to the court after his opponent Richard Gasquet withdrew with a leg injury.<\/p>\n Denis Shapovalov won an all-Canadian match against Vasek Pospisil 7-5 6-4. That sets up a quarterfinal against Taylor Fritz of the U.S., who upset sixth-seeded David Goffin 6-1 5-7 7-6 (9). Fritz saved a match point at 6-5 down in the decider and twice more in the tiebreaker.<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0clicking here!<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"