Watch Federer's First Grass Practice In Halle
Roger Federer stepped out for his first practice of the grass-court season after arriving at the NOVENTI OPEN Thursday.
A 10-time winner of the event, Federer practised with Japan’s Kei Nishikori under the watchful eye of coach Ivan Ljubicic.
Federer, who withdrew from his scheduled fourth-round match against Matteo Berrettini at Roland Garros at the weekend, is preparing for his fourth tournament of the year. The 103-time title winner claimed the Halle crown when the tournament was last played in 2019.
The Swiss will have plenty of competition this year, with Top 10 trio Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev in the field.
Nice practice with @rogerfederer today in @ATPHalle?. https://t.co/uLBRtWCbow pic.twitter.com/yjpoIm35jf
— Kei Nishikori (@keinishikori) June 10, 2021
Federer boasts 19 tour-level titles on grass and a 187-27 match record, for an Open-Era-leading winning percentage of 87.4% on the surface.
Explaining his decision to withdraw from Roland Garros, Federer last Sunday tweeted: “After discussions with my team, I’ve decided I will need to pull out of Roland Garros today. After two knee surgeries and over a year of rehabilitation, it’s important that I listen to my body and make sure I don’t push myself too quickly on my road to recovery. I am thrilled to have gotten three matches under my belt. There is no greater feeling than being back on court.”