“I was surprised to hear that some thought I pulled out because of the (Paris) weather”, said Federer, who last tasted action when he lost to Dominic Thiem in the third round in Rome almost a month ago.
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Second seed Bernard Tomic was too good for British number two Aljaz Bedene, winning 6-4 6-3, while American duo Stefan Kozlov and Sam Querrey also enjoyed the winning feeling.
“My back is good again; I feel much stronger”.
Federer will play at the Stuttgart tournament for the first time since 2001 and will be hoping to gain momentum in his preparations for Wimbledon in June and July.
Roger Federer has revealed a “tough year” is improving as he bids to be fit for Wimbledon.
ROGER FEDERER has revealed he will not compete at this year’s French Open due to a back injury.
The 17-time Grand Slam victor did not play at the Madrid Open earlier in the month and was eliminated in third round of the Italian Open. The former No. 1 underwent meniscus surgery after losing in the Australian Open semifinals to Novak Djokovic and then missed the French Open because of a back injury.
“It was much better for me to look forward to the rest of the season, rest of my life, really”.
Juan Martin del Potro, who has been plagued by injury troubles of his own in recent years, recorded an encouraging 6-4, 6-2 win over Grigor Dimitrov in his first appearance since May’s Madrid Open.
“I didn’t want to have setback after setback and injure myself maybe further”.
The 34-year-old Swiss great said he was pleased about the opportunity to add another grass-court event in the build-up to Wimbledon.
“So in hindsight it was definitely the right decision”. The top-ranked Djokovic won his first French Open title on Sunday to complete a career Grand Slam.
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“I’m a bit disappointed, it would have been nice if Sascha would have played”.
