Roger Federer plays down title chances on Roland Garros return

The 20-time Grand Slam champion won the Roland Garros title in 2009 thereby completing a career slam but has also lost four other finals to rival Rafael Nadal

Federer won his first and only Musketeers' Trophy till date in 2009 in his fourth final

Roger Federer on Friday played down his chances of winning the French Open on his first appearance at Roland Garros since 2015, saying that title-winning form might not be “in his racquet”.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion missed the 2016 French Open through injury before sitting out the next two clay-court seasons in order to focus on Wimbledon.

READ| Injured Federer withdraws in Rome

But he will make his Roland Garros return on Sunday with a first-round tie against unheralded Italian youngster Lorenzo Sonego.

Federer admitted that he is unsure of his title chances, but did compare his current situation with when he ended a five-year Grand Slam drought at the Australian Open in 2017.

“(I) don't know (if I can win the tournament). A bit of a question mark for me. Some ways I feel similar to maybe the Australian Open in '17,” the 2009 French Open winner said.

“A bit of the unknown. I feel like I'm playing good tennis, but is it enough against the absolute top guys when it really comes to the crunch? I'm not sure if it's in my racquet."

“But I hope I can get myself in that position deep down in the tournament against the top guys. But first I need to get there and I know that's a challenge in itself.”

Despite being the third seed, Federer faces a tricky draw, with a possible quarterfinal against Greek youngster Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat him in the Australian Open last 16 and a potential last-four clash with 11-time champion and old adversary Rafael Nadal.