Hopman Cup Betting: Federer out to prove he's not finished

Ralph Ellis
27 December 2016

Talking up his prospects - Roger Federer insists he's not finished yet

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After six months out injured, Roger Federer is ready to return to competitive tennis. Ralph Ellis says the 35-year-old can still be a danger...

"There were those who thought that at 35, with every trophy known to tennis already in his cabinet and more millions in the bank than he could ever count, it would be the signal for the great Swiss star to call it a day. Those people didn’t know Federer."

Roger Federer is taking all four of his children with him when he flies out to Australia tomorrow to begin his return to tennis. It's fair to assume that when it comes to bath time, however, he'll let wife Mirka take charge.

It's a year ago that the former world number one somehow managed to twist his knee while running a bath for the youngest of their two sets of twins. It's the sort of silly thing that happens to us all at some time. In Federer's case, however, it nearly ended his career.

By March he needed surgery on the knee. In July he fell heavily during his Wimbledon semi-final against Milos Raonic and the reaction in the joint meant that he hasn't played competitively since.

There were those who thought that at 35, with every trophy known to tennis already in his cabinet and more millions in the bank than he could ever count, it would be the signal for the great Swiss star to call it a day. Those people didn't know Federer.

After six weeks of intensive training he is back on the road, heading for the Australian Open where he will be seeking an 18th Grand Slam title to add to the record he already holds.

Few people expect him to achieve much in Melbourne. Despite winning it four times between 2004 and 2010 he is a 30.029/1 outsider. Andy Murray 2.6813/8 and Novak Djokovic 3.052/1 are inevitably the two favourites. But you can be sure that Federer himself thinks he can make an impact.

"I've played over 15 sets in practice the last few weeks and I feel I am there, it's been great preparation," he says. "It has felt good to be busy."

His challenge in Melbourne might be helped by the seedings. He's ranked 16th in the world now, the first time since 2001 he's been outside the top ten, and it could make him hugely dangerous to one of the higher ranked players in the early rounds.

We will find out more about what he can still offer when he plays in Perth from New Year's Day in the Hopman Cup where he pairs up with the 19-year-old Belinda Bencic to make up a Swiss team.

Despite being favourites in a developing market, it'll be a big ask to win the warm-up tournament in which both players compete in singles as well as joining together for mixed doubles in a round-robin group format. But the format is sufficiently competitive to give Federer a true test of whether he can still mix it with the big boys.

Andy Murray has often used the competition as part of his build-up for the Australian Open, but isn't involved this year and has left Dan Evans to play alongside Heather Watson as Great Britain's team.

And Federer isn't the only one making a comeback. The other big interest will be in how Nick Kyrgios fares on his return after completing his eight-week ban for not trying in the Shanghai Masters. He partners Daria Gavrilova in the Australian team.