Federer reveals long-standing hand injury

World
Europe

Roger Federer recently revealed that he has been suffering with a hand injury since the summer, but said the problem is no longer a worry as he heads into his home Swiss Open starting on Monday.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner said the problem began when he trained for the grass-court season.

"I hurt my hand training at the start of the grass season," Federer said. "It's had more consequences than I thought. I dragged this pain for about three months.

"It's not an excuse and we're not going to make a fuss over it."

He added, "(Sometimes) I felt pain during the first ten minutes of a match warmup. But now I can let go of my forehand normally without thinking of it."

The 37-year-old Swiss, who will play his second ATP tournament since the US Open, has a huge reputation to live up to at home, having won the trophy in three of the last four editions.

He started his bid for a ninth Basel title on Tuesday when he played Serbia's Filip Krajinovic and could face a revenge match in the second round if he and John Millman both advanced.

The 33rd-ranked Australian shocked Federer in the US Open fourth round in September.

Source(s): AFP