Enthusiastic Federer keen to play another couple of years

On the eve of his return to tennis after time out for parenting duties, Roger Federer sounded as enthusiastic about the game as he did when he first played here as a teenage prodigy 14 years ago, and he revealed "I am looking forward to another couple of years now."

He may not add to his 17 grand slam titles but he is playing the sort of tennis that has all but eradicated the memories of a poor 2013, when he won only one tournament, on the grass of Halle.

He plays his first game here in Rome today, against Jeremy Chardy, who took a set off him the only time they met, in the semi-final of the Brisbane Open earlier this year.

“It’s hard to leave all the family,” Federer said of his departure from his home in Switzerland, where his wife, Mirka, is with their latest set of twins, Leo and Lenny, along with the boys’ sisters, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva, nearly five.

“But nobody could be happier. I’ll see them soon. The boys are healthy and Mirka is good too. It’s a great time in our lives.”

Federer withdrew from the Madrid Open when the twins arrived last Tuesday, and said Mirka then all but banished him from the house, telling him to play in Rome.

'Miss them already'
"I said, 'okay, if you don't want me around, I'll go!' I miss them a lot already. It's a different type of week for me, but I'll get through it.

“I was able to train very hard after Monaco [where he beat Novak Djokovic in the semi-final]. I took some time off then trained really hard in Switzerland. I expect a lot from myself but, then again, I’ve come here with less pressure. I want to enjoy it.”

Rafael Nadal, who turns 28 during the French Open, escaped a hat-trick of 2013 clay losses in the Madrid final (something he has not endured on his favourite surface in a decade) thanks mainly to the physical collapse of Kei Nishikori, who has pulled out of Rome to prepare for the French Open, which starts on May 25th.

Nadal’s first match is against Gilles Simon today. Djokovic, who turns 27 just before Roland Garros, resumed playing yesterday, having pulled out of Madrid at the last minute to give his wrist injury more time to heal. He turned back the stubborn challenge of Radek Stepanek to win 6-3, 7-5. – Guardian Service