Perth: While Roger Federer has been feeling the love at the Hopman Cup this week, he has also been feeling the pain. Good pain. The type of day-after muscle soreness the 17-time major winner knew would follow his three-tiebreak loss to Alexander Zverev. Bring it on.
Federer, in his words, has been "out and about and enjoying it" in Perth playing tourist with his family for the past week, everywhere from Rottnest Island to the local production of Singing In The Rain on his first trip to Australia's west in 15 years. "That's why we came here," the Swiss star said after Wednesday's duel with the prodigiously talented German teenager hailed as a potential No.1.
![Roger Federer stretches to play a forehand to Alexander Zverev of Germany during the men's singles match on day four of ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170606105619im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/m/2/v/4/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtmm9r.png/1483610642464.jpg)
He also, of course, signed up for the match practice, and the Zverev engrossing test delivered two hours and 32 minutes of high-quality tennis that advanced Federer's journey along the comeback path two weeks out from a grand slam tournament he has won four times.
"Super-pleased," he said after the 7-6 (7-1), 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-4) result, and ahead of Friday's final round-robin clash with Frenchman Richard Gasquet. "I'm having a wonderful week, the family are enjoying themselves, practice has gone great, the welcome has been unbelievable, plus the matches have been good fun, too, and I've played a lot of tennis, so I'm very happy."
He had, he said, pulled up "really well" from a far-less-demanding opening match against Britain's Dan Evans, but the second would be different. "I'll definitely feel muscle pain, but that's also part of the reasons I came here – to get that pain in my body, so that hopefully if I do have a tough match in the beginning at Melbourne I won't have to go through it so extreme over there. This is going to give me a lot of good things."
They include the chance to hone his serve, which he has said several times is "the first thing to go when you don't play, so it's the hardest thing to get back again". Having failed to close out the first set against Zverev and then double-faulting twice in the opening tiebreak, Federer said repetition and more repetition was the key to making first serves and hitting the lines, or close to them, on critical points in big matches. Returns, too, and half-volleys, he said, still needed polishing on the fast Plexicushion he also expects at the Australian Open.
Certainly, the 35-year-old's work ethic on the practice court is undiminished, including a three-hour hit on New Year's Eve, and then a long session with Zverev. The youngster recalls it as another three-tiebreak affair; Federer, who tends not to forget these things, insists the score the rising star's way was 6-4 in the third.
Either way, Zverev will take it, for a lesson from the master and new bongo-cam enthusiast is that Federer approaches both practice and matches exactly the same way. "Every point he tries to focus and tries to play the best game he can ... if you don't play your best tennis every single point you've got no chance," Zverev said.
"And he plays so quick. I think he has the quickest second shot after the serve in tennis history, probably. The way he gets up to the ball, his movement, his footwork, and also wrist action is probably one of the best things tennis has ever seen."
Federer insists he is undaunted by the likelihood of his diminished ranking relegating him to the 17th seeding at Melbourne Park, his lowest in 15 years, and thus the prospect of a meeting with a top-eight resident such as Andy Murray or Novak Djokovic as early as the fourth round. "If I'm seeded 16 or 17 that will make it that much more interesting to see the draw. But as long as I'm fit and healthy it doesn't matter what my seeding is."
Zverev's will be in the mid-20s, but surely not for long. The powerful 19-year-old, one of a group of fast-rising stars that that includes Nick Kyrgios, Taylor Fritz, Kyle Edmund, Borna Coric and Karen Khachanov, is the only teenager in the top 25 and in October became the youngest player to debut in the top 20 since Djokovic a decade ago. During a breakout season at tour level, he beat not just Federer (almost unthinkably, on grass in Halle), but three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka (in the St Petersburg final) as well.
"He's very good," Federer said. "He didn't really need to show me that again tonight. I knew that from Rome and Halle. I've practised with him several times and it's nice to see him improving. Every month that goes by you see him adding something more to his game. He's becoming more and more consistent, though that's what you kind of expect from a young guy. I think he's got a wonderful future ahead of him if he keeps working hard and stays injury-free, which I believe he will. He's definitely going to be one to watch for another decade or so."