Roger Federer has assuaged his fans’ fears of impending retirement by announcing his playing schedule for 2021 which centres around a serious tilt at a ninth Wimbledon title. By the time he appears on the match court in Doha – in an event that starts on March 8 – Federer will not have played on the tour for 13 months. He will be returning from last year’s pair of keyhole operations on his right knee. And he will be closing in on his 40th birthday. An inauspicious combination, you might think. But Federer is not as other men. Before this latest lay-off, he was still striking the ball with his customary verve and creativity. Were it not for the brilliance of Novak Djokovic, the one man he seems hesitant against, he would have continued to pick up grand-slam titles. Even so, he already has 20 majors – the same number as his longest-standing rival Rafael Nadal. “I want to celebrate great victories again. And for that I am ready to go the long, hard road,” Federer told Swiss broadcasting station SRF. “I like to play tennis for life. In the last few months, I have given a lot in rehab, in the conditioning area. I had to go through it, but I always enjoyed it.” Although Federer has won Doha three times, he has not played there since 2012. “I wanted to make my comeback at a smaller tournament,” he explained, “so that I wasn’t fully in focus and where the stress is also a little less.” Surprisingly, he intends to compete on clay this year, even though it puts more strain on his body than other surfaces. “After Doha I would like to play another tournament,” Federer said, probably in reference to Dubai or Miami. “If it doesn’t work out, I would go back into training, and then I plan to prepare for clay, with focus later on Halle, Wimbledon and the Olympics.” It is a busy schedule which reminds us how ambitious Federer remains – even though he also told SRF interviewer Bernie Schär that he is concerned about pushing himself too hard. “I will not try pathologically to stay on the tour,” he said. “I want to be able to go skiing with the children and with Mirka. Or go hiking, play basketball or start ice hockey – I still have so many dreams. For that, I need a good body and I don’t want to hit it against the wall.”