By Chris Soderstrom
Roger Federer defended his decision to pull out of the Stockholm Open last week citing fatigue from a gruelling season as his primary reason.
Having won a fifth consecutive US Open crown over a month ago, the 27-year-old has since only played one match in Switzerland’s Davis Cup match-up against Belgium.
“The season was long and I felt very tired, I needed some rest,” said the Swiss ace of his break after the Davis Cup. “But I’m still not sure how much I need. I took the time off, trained again [in Dubai] and looked at how I felt.”
“I wasn’t sure how much rest was needed but I took enough time off, started practising, looked at how I felt and I thought I was feeling good enough to win the tournament to come here and play, so we'll see where it takes me from here.”
Federer insists he has had a good season despite losing his long-held No. 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal in August.
“I know the season has been long and I have had a good season by winning the US Open, so there is not a whole lot of sense for me to play that much but I love the game and I love to compete,” said Federer, who has been brought back to the field in recent times.
The Swiss star faces first round opponent Radek Stepanek at the Madrid Masters on Wednesday.