Roger Federer finalizes his return to the tracks after a 2020 season almost blank after knee operations he underwent before the break circuit for the coronavirus pandemic. After announcing that he will not play in the Australian Open, Federer is already looking for a tournament to make his return to the competition and the ABN AMRO of Rotterdam (February 27 – March 7) sounds very strong to host the return of the 'Master'.
The Dutch tournament director and 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek left the event open to Federer, champion in Rotterdam in 2005, 2012 and 2018. “Roger Federer knows that he is always well received here. With the Big Three, you hope the manager will contact you to tell you that they want to play here.”
Krajicek still has doubts about Federer's return date, although he believes that the Swiss prefers to return in a tournament with 3-set matches rather than 5 sets. “If he knows that February 8 will be too soon to return, how can he know if he will return on March 1? Although playing the best of three sets is different from doing it to the best of 5 as in the Grand Slam “
Finally Krajicek also valued the new situation of the calendar, in which Rotterdam appears before the Doha and Dubai tournaments, other of Federer's favorite tournaments, and in which he could compete after his hypothetical participation in the Dutch tournament. “He also likes to play in Dubai. And now, after Rotterdam, come the Doha and Dubai tournaments. Federer can make that choice too.”