What a difference a year makes. It has been nearly one year since Roger Federer ended his 2016 campaign following a semi-final defeat at Wimbledon to Milos Raonic. One year since the Swiss hung up his racquet in order to continue to rehab his knee following surgery.

As all eyes once again turn to the All England Club for the Wimbledon Championships, Federer is back and ready to retake his throne. Fresh and fit, the 35 year old says the right preparation is essential to success. How does the seven-time champion get ready for his 19th consecutive appearance at SW19?

“Today, for instance, I was just trying to have good energy in practice,” Federer told the assembled media on Saturday. “Short and sweet, just get it done. Tomorrow I’ll be off. Then sort of basically resting, just making sure I come in fresh into that first round with the right mindset.

“I don’t want to be at the mercy of my opponent. I want to take charge and play aggressive myself. So for that I need to be fast on my feet and quick in my mind. I just need enough rest so I can play enough inspired tennis. 

“In practice itself, I’m just trying to play forward, serve-and-volleying some. Making sure I don’t get stuck behind the baseline and just making shots. It’s more being really proactive in practice right now.”

Most Grand Slam Appearances (entering Wimbledon 2017)

Federer is bidding for his eighth Wimbledon crown, which would make him the all-time title leader at the All England Club. He is currently tied with Pete Sampras and William Renshaw with seven singles trophies. He would also join Rafael Nadal as the only players to win at least eight titles at a single Grand Slam tournament, with Nadal also achieving the feat at Roland Garros. The Spaniard holds the record with 10 titles after completing ‘La Decima’ last month.

Federer knows that he’ll have his work cut out to lift the trophy again this year. With Nadal in top form after dominating the clay-court season, Djokovic on the heels of a title in Eastbourne and Murray the defending champion, it won’t be a routine task.

“Depending how fit he is, if he’s anything close to 100 per cent physically, I consider [Andy] one of the big favorites to win the tournament,” Federer added. “It’s that simple. It’s the same for Novak and the same for Rafa.

“I think it’s very even when we put it all out on the line. Everybody has their own little story right now. I feel like Andy’s one of the best players in the first week at Wimbledon, so I don’t worry too much for him there. He can play himself into shape hopefully for week two.

“Novak is just coming back from winning Eastbourne now. Rafa is coming in red hot from the clay. So I see it positive for them rather than negative in some shape. But I see that they are going to be tough to beat here.”

Federer is riding a wave of momentum into his 70th Grand Slam main draw appearance, having streaked to the title at the Gerry Weber Open without dropping a set. He owns a staggering 24-2 win-loss mark in 2017, also including victories at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami, as well as his 18th major title at the Australian Open.

He will open with a tough test against the unpredictable Alexandr Dolgopolov. Federer has not dropped a set in three FedEx ATP Head2Head encounters, with their most recent meeting coming at the 2016 Australian Open. A potential second round date with #NextGenATP star Stefanos Tsitsipas awaits, with Raonic, Alexander Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov and John Isner also looming in his quarter of the draw.

On paper, the 2017 Wimbledon Championships, which start on Monday, could be Rafael Nadal’s best chance in years to win another title at the All England Club. The Spaniard has won 24 of his past 25 matches, including three titles – Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and the Mutua Madrid Open – en route to his 10^th Roland Garros crown during the European clay-court swing.

He’s been healthy all season long, has posted a 43-6 record so far and appears to be in good health heading into his 12^th Wimbledon.

“You can imagine playing here in Wimbledon for me has always been very, very special. It was one of the biggest goals that I had when I started to have success in this sport, to play well in this tournament,” Nadal said in his pre-tournament press conference on Saturday. “Let’s see what’s going on this year. I know it is always difficult. I am excited to be playing again here, in a tournament that I really love, I really enjoy playing. But at the same time I tell you, it is a tournament that you can go out very early in the tournament.”

Indeed, Nadal has either been wide smile or quick exit at SW19. From 2006-2011, the Spaniard reached the final five consecutive times, hoisting the Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy twice – 2008 and 2010. But Nadal has also failed to reach the quarter-finals six times at Wimbledon. He missed the tournament last year because of a left wrist injury.

Nadal On The Grass At Wimbledon

Besides his wrist, Nadal’s knees have also hampered him on grass. “It’s true that what happened with my knees in 2012 was more difficult. At the same time it’s true that in 2014 I played a good event. I lost in the fourth round against Nick. But I had my chances, too. After that, last year I couldn’t play, 2015 was not my year, of course,” Nadal said. “But at the same time, if I am able to go through at the beginning, I think I am with confidence. I am playing well since the beginning of the season, so let’s see.”

Nadal was scheduled to start his grass-court season last week at the Aegon Championships at The Queen’s Club. But he decided to rest instead after his nonstop clay-court season. Last week, he practised on grass courts on his home island of Mallorca, which was hosting a WTA event.

“After the last three months and after what happened in Roland Garros, we decided that for my body it’s better to have a slower change to the grass. We were practising little bit more every day. I was lucky to have a tournament there in Mallorca. That was a big help,” Nadal said.

Read More: Djokovic Adds Coach To Team

He will have extra incentive to do well this year at Wimbledon. Regardless of how his peers fare, if Nadal reaches his sixth Wimbledon final, he will return to No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time since 23 June 2014.

The odds are good that at least one of the “Big Four” members will win the title. Nadal, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have swept the past 14 Wimbledon titles. Nadal faces World No. 137 John Millman of Australia in the first round.

The wait is finally over for 28-year-old Yuichi Sugita, who lifted his first ATP World Tour trophy on Saturday at the Antalya Open. He defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 7-6(4), prevailing after one hour and 29 minutes.

“I’m really happy to be the first champion in Antalya,” Sugita said during the trophy presentation. “This is the most emotional moment of my career. I’ve won many Futures and Challenger titles, but never at a big tournament like this. It’s just amazing. I can’t believe it.”

Sugita is the fourth first-time winner on the ATP World Tour this year, joining Sydney winner Gilles Muller, Memphis champ Ryan Harrison and Marrakech titlist Borna Coric. He is also just the third Japanese player to ever win on the circuit, alongside Shuzo Matsuoka and Kei Nishikori.

First Time Winner Spotlight: Muller | Harrison | Coric

ATPWorldTour.com spoke to Sugita after his victory:

You are the third Japanese player to win an ATP World Tour title. What does this accomplishment mean to you?
Before the final, I heard that if I win the tournament, I will be the third Japanese player to win on the ATP World Tour. This was amazing. I made my first semi-final here, then the final and the title. I just played my best tennis and I’m really proud of the way I played today.

You are now in the Top 50 of the Emirates ATP Rankings. Do you have any new ranking goals for the rest of the year?
I’m going to try to be seeded for the Grand Slams (Top 32). I need to do a little bit more, but I feel I can do it now. I really want to try that. 

Is there a player that you looked up to and admired when you were growing up?
Roger Federer. I played him last week (at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle) and it was a great experience. Maybe that’s why I played so well this week.

Is grass your favourite surface?
Yes it is. My first time qualifying for a Grand Slam was at Wimbledon  (in 2014) and now I won my first title on grass. I played really well the whole week.

How did you play through the hot conditions this week?
In Japan, it’s very humid in the summer like it is here. I have an advantage for these conditions. I still had to play against very high level players, so I needed to be fit.

Amazing! ?

?? Yuichi Sugita wins his first ever title!#AntalyaOpen pic.twitter.com/nH7O6rPAiJ

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 1, 2017

Novak Djokovic remained unbeaten on the grass to win his second ATP World Tour title of the season on Saturday, beating Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 in 76 minutes at the Aegon International in Eastbourne.

Djokovic captures his first title since January, when he beat World No. 1 Andy Murray to kick off the 2017 ATP World Tour season at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. The title is a positive step for the Serbian, who has since fallen to No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and was a late wild-card entry into the ATP World Tour 250 in Eastbourne.

Djokovic now heads to Wimbledon, which starts on Monday, on a four-match winning streak and full of confidence as he prepares to compete for the title at the All England Club. Djokovic is a three-time champion at the grass-court Grand Slam.

If Djokovic goes on to win his fourth Wimbledon crown, he will become the first player to win an ATP World Tour title and a Grand Slam title in consecutive weeks since Patrick Rafter swept Long Island and the US Open in 1998. Djokovic will receive 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points and €113,330 in prize money.

Monfils was trying to beat Djokovic for the first time since a Futures event on clay in Bergamo, Italy, in April 2004. Coming into Saturday, the Frenchman was 0-13 against the Serbian in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, and Djokovic controlled the match from the start, breaking in the opening game and to close out the first set.

Although Monfils brought pace and swung aggressively throughout the match, Djokovic was more clutch in the biggest moments, again breaking Monfils to finish the match. The Belgrade native saved all three break points and won 76 per cent of his first-serve points. Monfils will receive 150 Emirates ATP Rankings points and €59,690 in prize money.