Roger Federer has returned for yet another grass court Tennis festival. A 20-time Grand Slam winner, the Swiss star will kick-start the 2018 grass season at Mercedes Cup, in Stuttgart. The German-based tournament was also on Federer's radar last year, although, with little success. It was Tommy Haas who spoiled the party by defeating Federer, not before saving a couple of match points.
For Federer, this ATP 250 event is the right place to be as he tries to build up some momentum for the 2018 Wimbledon Championships, the biggest target of this summer. The 36-year-old is the highest seed in the draw but the projected trajectory is not as easy as some might think. According to the ATP official website, Federer's path includes some interesting obstacles. Although a small tournament, this event could propel Federer back to the summit as he only needs to make it to the final in order to swap places with Rafael Nadal next Monday.
Roger Federer faces an interesting draw
As the highest seed in the draw, he received a bye in the first round.
According to ESPN, Roger Federer will face Mischa Zverev as the German managed to secure a slot in the next round of the event. Federer holds an immaculate 5-0 record against his opponent.
If he gets past Mischa Zverev, Roger Federer might be on a collision course with the NextGen star Denis Shapovalov while the semis could bring Nick Kyrgios on the other side of the net. The Aussie is also trying to gain some momentum after a disappointing first part of the year.
The bottom half of the draw presents an interesting field too with the likes of Kohlschreiber, Berdych or Lucas Pouille, all of them trying to push for a deep run.
Federer shares some thoughts during a press conference in Stuttgart
Roger Federer's press conference in Stuttgart offered a glimpse into how his future plans might unfold.
He was also asked to comment on Rafael Nadal winning his 11th French Open title. Once again, Federer proved why his press conferences tend to be a special treat. He praised his rival's achievement but he also said that this particular result will motivate him even more. If he gets to the final in Stuttgart, Federer will reclaim that world No. 1 position
One cannot stop on dreaming about yet another Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal clash. They've met on four different occasions back in 2017 with Federer winning them all, but Nadal still leads the head to head stats by a solid margin 23-15.
Now, it will be interesting to see if Roger Federer can shake off the dust of that spectacular tennis mechanism. The 2018 Wimbledon Championships looms ahead and Federer is definitely going to try to find his best shape before putting his aim on it.