Tennis: Roger Federer seals comeback with win over Dan Evans at Qatar Open

Roger Federer sealed his return to the courts with a thrilling second-round victory at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in his first competitive match since January 2020.

The Swiss great was competing against Britains Dan Evans and having split the first two sets of an entertaining encounter, Federer fashioned the first match point at 5-4 in the deciding set on the Evans serve but the Brit dug deep to hold on with a classy serve-and-volley approach that brings back memories of the Swiss legend.

Federer then forced Evans to hold onto his serve to save the match for a second time but the 30-year-old from Birmingham was unable to repeat the trick, as Federer fashioned two more match points.

Evans won his first ATP Tour title in Melbourne earlier this year and was looking to best the legend of the game, however, it wasn’t to be.

In Federer’s first match in 14 months following two knee operations, he wasn’t to be denied victory as his trademark one-handed backhand down the line sealed a dramatic three-set win for the evergreen Federer, who turns 40 in August.

“It feels good to be back, I am happy to be standing here regardless of whether I won or lost but obviously winning feels better,” said Federer, a three-time champion in Doha.

“It was a good match and Dan played a good match, he has been a wonderful training partner with me over the last two weeks - we have played more than 20 sets so it went on and on and it was great fun.

“I was more focused on being tired that winning the point so I felt if I was going to go out I am going to go out swinging but I am incredibly happy I played a really good match, served really well and nice to finish with a backhand down the line on a match point.

“It’s been a long and tough road, but I have enjoyed it, it has been a huge challenge at my age but I have a wonderful team around me that have supported me throughout and it was worth it.”