Top 10 Moments of 2021: Federer Frenzy in Doha

It's a big deal practically any time Roger Federer steps on court these days, but all the more so for his return to competition at the ATP event in Doha, Qatar, this season.

It was Federer's first competitive match since the 2020 Australian Open -- a charity event in South Africa had been followed by right knee surgery, and then another procedure four months on, keeping him off the tour for more than a year as a whole.

So his comeback match against Dan Evans in the first round of Doha was appointment television, even—or especially—in the player lounge. The 39-year-old looked surprisingly sharp in a three-set win, and it would have been tough to guess he would only play a dozen more times the entire season.

But with such a limited schedule, there was a frenzy every time he did play. Each encounter can easily be cataloged and recalled—a tight and slightly tired-looking three-set defeat against Nikoloz Basilashvili in the next round of Doha, then a three-month break followed by a rusty first-round defeat on clay in Geneva.

But Roland Garros produced a fine start, backed up with a second-round win against Marin Cilic and a scrappy four-set win against Dominik Koepfer in a night session with no fans, only to finish in an abrupt fourth-round withdrawal.

The grass stretch began with a victory against a nervy Ilya Ivanska before a puzzlingly desultory 6-2 third set against Felix Auger-Aliassime in Halle, and then Wimbledon's wide ride—the gift of first-round retirement from Adrian Mannarino, a vintage performance against Richard Gasquet in the second round, a big fist pump upon fending off Cameron Norrie in the third, sweeping by Lorezno Sonego in the fourth, and finally, a second-set tiebreak slip and 6-0 third-set against Hubert Hurkacz.

And there it left off. Subsequently, Federer would announce that he had re-aggravated his knee injury and would need another surgery, with plans for a return but no date set.

Whenever he does get back on court, it could be bigger yet.