|
 Federer, however, was hopeful, although not exactly optimistic,
he could be ready for Friday's first singles.
“It's definitely not good enough to practice. I wish progress would
be faster, but we're trying hard. You know, we're heading in that
direction. I feel it's definitely a little bit better than it was on
Saturday night and Sunday and also Monday,” Federer told a news
conference in Lille, where the tie will be played on clay from
Friday-Sunday.
“Yeah, baby steps, I guess. I'm hopeful. I mean, I hope so. Clearly
I'm not going to talk exactly about what my back problem is. It's
something I've had in the past. At least I'm an experienced back guy
(smiling).”
 Federer, who withdrew from the ATP World Tour final he was scheduled
to play in London on Sunday against world number one Novak Djokovic,
said he hoped to start training on Wednesday.
“It's been a slow process,” he explained. “I wish I could be on the
practice courts, but I can't be there yet. I'm hopeful for
tomorrow.”
Federer leads the Swiss Davis Cup challenge with world number four
Stan Wawrinka while France rely on a cluster of five top 30 players
to win the competition for the first time since 2001.
[to top of second column] |
Switzerland have never won the Davis Cup.
The French said they did not follow Federer’s health problems. “The
important thing for us is to stay focused on ourselves, on our team.
What we need is to have a perfect performance. What we can do is
just play tennis. Anything else is not really our business,” French
number one Jo-Wilfried Tsonga told a news conference on Tuesday.
(Writing by Julien Pretot; editing by Justin Palmer)
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