Long lay-off put Federer quest back on track

MELBOURNE: Resurgent Roger Federer said a long period of rest when he took six months out with injury had fuelled his incredible shot at more Grand Slam glory at the Australian Open.

The 35-year-old Swiss veteran is wowing the tennis world with his wholly unexpected run through to Sunday’s final.

Federer said much of his rejuvenation stemmed from his injury break, the longest of his career, which followed surgery on his knee earlier in the season.

“It was a good thing to do. You can only ever do so much treatment to feel decent,” said Federer, whose 19-year playing career has been largely injury-free.

“What I’ve come to realise is when you don’t feel well, you have too many problems going on, you just won’t beat top-10 players.

“All the time all you’re doing is fighting the fire. From that standpoint, yeah, the six months definitely gave me something in return.”