Federer, unsure if he'll continue playing in Rome, is taking 'baby steps'

Roger Federer returned to the courts with a win in Rome on Wednesday, but then revealed that before the match he was inclined to predict a straight-sets defeat.

"That was the mindset going in," he said at his press conference after defeating Alexander Zverev, 6-3, 7-5. "To win in straight sets is actually a big surprise to me."

Federer, who withdrew from Madrid with a back injury, said it was only during his pre-match warm-up that he actually decided he was going to play.

"I played cautious," he said. "So it was a big match for me on many levels ... In terms of information, looking ahead to [the] next few weeks, regardless if I'm going to play tomorrow or not, this was something I needed to do to get a sense of where I'm at."

That suggests Federer is still deciding whether he will play the next round, which could be a tough meeting with the rising Dominic Thiem.

"It's baby steps right now," said Federer.

The world No. 2 described the previous few months as "brutal," having had knee surgery following the Australian Open. He withdrew from Miami with a stomach virus and then returned in Monte Carlo—where he lost in the quarterfinals to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga—before pulling out of the Madrid Open.

"I'm just happy to be able to play normal tennis to some extent," he said.

Federer could drop to No. 3 in the rankings following the tournament.