Column: Roger Federer still feels as if he’s on the comeback trail

Reporting from Indian Wells â€”  According to the timetable he drew up when he began a six-month absence from tournament tennis to rehabilitate his surgically repaired left knee, Roger Federer will be on the comeback trail until April. Winning the Australian Open championship in January — a stirring performance in which he survived a trio of five-set matches to win his 18th Grand Slam singles title — hasn’t accelerated that schedule or changed his outlook.

“I don’t feel like you throw everything overboard just because you won the Australian Open,� he said. “I still try to see it in the most relaxed way possible, understanding that it did start off with a bang in Australia and clearly people will expect me to back it up and all that stuff. I really don’t see it that way. I feel like I’m on the comeback, and no expectations.�

Federer, seeded No. 9 at the BNP Paribas Open and due to play his first match Sunday, took a giant leap forward in Australia after setting low goals. His backhand was sharp and he was aggressive in the final against Rafael Nadal, erasing Nadal’s 3-1 lead in the fifth set. Federer cried afterward and it seemed the tennis world cried with him, admiring his valiant play at age 35 and savoring another chance to enjoy his characteristic elegance after it had seemed his excellence might be fading.

Yet, he never imagined it could happen, and he had outlined a modest best-case scenario before the tournament. “I think maybe a fourth round would be great. Maybe a quarters would be incredible. And I really meant that,� he said Wednesday.

“And even after I won the first round against [Jurgen] Melzer at the Australian Open I told the press I would have been even OK, almost happy, to have lost today because I’m injury-free, I’m playing in the Australian Open, things are good. I had a great buildup in December. Hopman Cup went well. The Australian Open result-wise wouldn’t have gone so well potentially if I had lost in the first round, but still I’m happy to be back on a court. I was happy with extremely little and that’s why the surprise was so huge for me that I went all the way. I still can’t believe it.�

Stan Wawrinka, who lost to Federer in a five-set semifinal in Melbourne, said he wasn’t surprised his Swiss compatriot played so well after so long an absence. “No, because before his knee problem he was still playing semifinals or finals in Grand Slams,� Wawrinka said. “You know with Roger that when he’s fit and ready he can beat anybody. So it’s great to see him back at that level.�

Kei Nishikori of Japan, who fell to Federer in Australia in a five-set match in the fourth round, sees more success ahead for Federer. “We obviously know he has the experience and he’s been playing at a top level for a long time so for sure, he’s going to be back strong,� said Nishikori, who’s seeded No. 4 here. “For sure he has more chances to win a Grand Slam again. It’s great to see Roger is playing good again and also Rafa [Nadal].�

But it might not be so good for Nishikori that he’s in the same half of the draw as Federer. Also in that half: No. 2 Novak Djokovic and No. 5 Nadal. “It’s going to be tough for us but great, I think,� Nishikori said.

Federer wasn’t fazed by his difficult draw. “Most of the guys you won’t even see because they’ll eliminate each other,� he said. “It doesn’t matter. I came here anyways to play against those guys so it doesn’t matter if it’s the semis, the finals, or actually the fourth round. … I think it’s good for me to play those guys early. I look forward to it.�

Thinking about being No. 1 again isn’t part of his comeback plan yet. “Just because I won Australia doesn’t change anything,� he said. “Would you like to be it? Everybody in the draw would love to be world No. 1. But right now, Sir Andy Murray is that and he’s deserved it, very much so. And if I want to get back there, because I never can play the amount of tournaments that Andy can play or others will play right now, I have to win a lot of big tournaments. That’s a big ask right now.

“I’m still in the back end of just enjoying the Australian Open and doing all that stuff. But sure, if it presents itself, maybe then I can start chasing it. Honestly right now, I’m so far away from that, it would be a bit ridiculous to talk about it.�

Then again, it seemed ridiculous to think he’d win the Australian Open. If he wins here, where he has prevailed four times, he just might have to concede that he has come all the way back, and sooner than he had planned.

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