Roger Federer reveals grass court ‘soreness’ in build up to Wimbledon

The 36-year-old, who has made headlines away from the court after reportedly splitting with Nike this week, made a winning return at the Stuttgart Open after a lengthy break from the sport yesterday.

Federer ended a three-month hiatus with a 3-6 6-4 6-2 triumph over home hopeful Mischa Zverev – the older brother of world No 3 Alexander – on grass.

But in a recent interview with Swiss outlet Blick, Federer claimed he had tried to limit his time spent practising on grass in order to avoid ‘soreness’ in his lower back.

“I prefer to play on a hard court than on a half wet lawn,” he said.

“The lawn is rarely really dry, mostly, especially early in the morning, it is just wet. Then you train almost only serve, return, serve, return. On hard court, you can go through it again and move well.

“That makes you automatically better on grass then. There you have to be more careful, sometimes you just start pushing the balls. You also have more soreness.

“[I feel pain] in the lower back and in the buttocks. The first reaction to turf is always to go forwards and down.

“You will quickly get tired of this brutal explosiveness and constant adaptation. But that's over now. I had enough grass training by far and I am ready.”

The world No 2 will have the chance to regain top spot in the ATP rankings if he manages to reach the final in Stuttgart; Rafael Nadal strengthened his hold on the world No 1 title with victory at the French Open last weekend.