Roger Federer: WATCH Swiss star return to training ahead of Serena Williams clash
ROGER FEDERER returned to training this week ahead of the Hopman Cup, where he will face off against Serena Williams in a mixed doubles clash.
Roger Federer trains at hotel in Dubai
Federer had a disappointing end to 2018 as he failed to defend his Wimbledon crown, suffered a fourth-round exit at the US Open and dropped to No 3 in the world rankings.
The Swiss star will need to up his game in the New Year as he is out to defend his Australian Open title.
But before that he is set to compete for Switzerland in the Hopman Cup.
In preparation, Federer has continued his tradition by training in Dubai.
It is unclear which partners the 37-year-old has called up to play with in the Middle East.
But he is hoping they will be challenging enough to get him up to the standard to compete with the best players in the world come the end of the month.
Federer’s next match will be for Switzerland against Great Britain in the Hopman Cup on Sunday, December 30 at 9.30am (GMT).
Cameron Norrie will be Federer’s first opponent, followed by a mixed doubles match.
Roger Federer’s Hopman Cup fixtures
Dec 30 - Great Britain vs Switzerland
Jan 1 - USA vs Switzerland
Jan 3 - Greece vs Switzerland
Jan 5 - Winner of Group A vs winner of Group B
Hopman Cup teams
Group A
Germany - Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber
France - Lucas Pouille and Alize Cornet
Australia - Matt Ebden and Ashleigh Barty
Spain - David Ferrer and Gabrine Muguruza
Group B
USA - Frances Tiafoe and Serena Williams
Switzerland - Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic
Greece - Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari
Great Britain - Cameron Norrie and Kate Boulter