Federer to play tennis at US Open but rules out Williams-like return

The 20-time Grand Slam champion confirmed he’s only going to play in an exhibition match and has no plans to return.Roger Federer is actually nervous about his tennis.The man who won five straight US Open championships during the height of his dominance of the sport is set to play again in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday night for the first time since 2019. And he’s not quite sure how the game that perhaps nobody ever made look more elegant will appear now.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Gauff, Fils win Cincinnati tennis titles in run-up to US Openlist 2 of 4Tennis: Philippines’ Eala wins first WTA title, Fritz claims DC crownlist 3 of 4Venus Williams hits 13-game tennis losing streak with Cincinnati Open exitlist 4 of 4Ceferin won’t challenge Infantino for FIFA presidency but tells him to quitend of list“I haven’t played a singles set in, I don’t know, [Hubert] Hurkacz at Wimbledon maybe, so it’s been five years,” Federer said on Monday, referring to his 2021 quarterfinal loss in his last Grand Slam match.“I don’t know how it’s going to go tomorrow. So there is a lot of uncertainty but a lot of happiness that I can return to Arthur Ashe, a place where I have had so many beautiful moments.”It’s only one set of singles in an exhibition against Andy Roddick and one set of doubles with John McEnroe against Roddick and Andre Agassi. The winner of 20 Grand Slam singles titles should be fine for those.But a return to tennis beyond that, competing in major tennis tournaments in his mid-40s like Venus and Serena Williams?“No, no, no, no. No, not at all,” Federer said during a news conference.“Thanks for asking. I wasn’t sure if the question was going to get asked, but I’m happy you did so I can clarify in case anybody thought.”At 45, Federer still looks fit, and said he enjoys working out in the gym. But he said he goes through long stretches where he is rarely on the court.His lengthy absence from the US Open has done little to dampen his popularity, based on the number of people around the grounds who were mentioning his name. The appearance of “Roger Federer” up on the big board for all to see again, before his afternoon practice on Ashe, where Federer collected the trophy every year from 2004-08, was a welcome sight for his fans.