Federer talks clay-court return as he chases his 100th career title

Roger Federer returns to competition this week on the hardcourts of Dubai, aiming to win the 100th title of his career. Yet the talk was as much about his decision to play the clay-court season for the first time since 2016.

Federer said he simply wanted to return to playing on a surface on which he grew up but had avoided since re-injuring his knee and hurting his back as he returned following surgery in 2016.

"I think the team understood that I was in the mood to do it again," he said, speaking to local press before the Dubai tournament. "I felt like my body is strong enough now again to do the surface changes from hard to clay to grass to hard again."

Federer's decision to skip clay paid off in 2017 with a win at Wimbledon, but not in 2018. But the No. 7 again insisted that this did not affect his decision, and he plans to keep playing a similar amount.

"It was purely based on I would just like to play. We can always readjust the schedule accordingly," he said. "My body was ready, I was ready, my schedule with the family, my schedule with the team was ready to do it again.

"This is when I opted to say, ‘It will be nice. Instead of taking a big chunk off, I'd rather stay in the rhythm and actually enjoy myself on the clay.’ It's going to be challenging, no doubt about it. I have to take baby steps in the beginning to some extent, but that's okay."

As for title No. 100, Federer says he's become used to chasing the figure since winning No. 99 in his hometown of Basel almost five months ago.

"You try your best every match, every week anyway. Things fall into place or they don’t. It’s not because of lack of effort," he said. "We’ve been talking about 99 titles ever since Basel and every tournament I’ve played. There’s nothing new.

"Of course, coming to Dubai where I’ve enjoyed a lot of success sort of makes you believe maybe it could happen here. Then again, the draw is tough and I haven’t played in a few weeks."

He is also aiming for his eighth title in Dubai, but noted that the tournament conditions have changed.

"It gives me confidence that I know I can play well, here in Dubai on this court in these conditions, even though I must say the conditions play much, much slower than the previous years here. This is a big shift, I believe, in the tournament, if going to keep this surface this slow, or the balls that slow," he said.

"I think you can really grind a player down now. It’s been actually quite a big change."

This is Federer's first event since falling to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round of the Australian Open, which he says did not affect him hugely.

"I still felt like I played okay," he said. "Played great at the Hopman Cup. I played good actually all matches. I just messed up on some big, big points.

"It’s actually been a nice break away from it all. I went on vacation after the Australian Open with the family. You know me, I love that. After that, I went to practice. The important thing was not to get hurt because I was training in Switzerland. It was cold. We had snow and everything. I’m happy I got through that one well. Actually I’m feeling good now. Fitness has been going well, tennis has been going well."

ATP/WTA Acapulco

• Rafael Nadal, Alexander Zverev, Juan Martin del Potro and Sloane Stephens headline the Abierto Mexicano Telcel. Watch live coverage on Tennis Channel Plus beginning Monday, 2/25 at 5:00 pm ET.

ATP Dubai

• Watch Roger Federer, Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic and Karen Khachanov live from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship starting Monday, 2/25 at 5:00 am ET

ATP Sao Paulo

• Tennis Channel Plus features live coverage of the Brasil Open beginning Monday, 2/25 at 10:30 am ET