SPORTS> Tennis
Federer, Nadal return to action
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-10 10:32

MONTREAL: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal return to tennis after long absences today at the Montreal Masters with top seed Federer playing just three weeks after the birth of his twin daughters.

The Swiss is happily on a roll after winning the French Open for the first time and Wimbledon for the sixth.

Related readings:
Federer, Nadal return to action First photo of Federer's twins on Facebook
Federer, Nadal return to action Federer's twin girls 100-1 to win Wimbledon
Federer, Nadal return to action Federer beats Roddick for record 15th Grand Slam
Federer, Nadal return to action Nadal, Roddick injuries cloud Cup quarters
Federer, Nadal return to action Nadal to try '200 percent' at Wimbledon
Nadal's story is a polar opposite as the Spaniard has been forced to rest his tendinitis-plagued knees for nearly two months after being forced out before Wimbledon due to the injury and being deposed as French Open champion.

Neither man can predict the outcome at the first major event since Wimbledon ended five weeks ago, when Federer moved deeper into the record books with his 15th Grand Slam title, earned at the expense of Andy Roddick.

Nadal went through what looked to some is an uninspiring training session after arriving in Canada following weeks at home on the island of Mallorca with his practise time extremely limited.

The Spaniard is set to defend the title he won last year at the event which alternates between Toronto and Montreal in the English and French-speaking parts of Canada.

The top eight seeds all have byes, with the elite not set to open before midweek.

Briton Andy Murray, fresh off a week or more of training at his base in Miami, takes the third seeding and could surpass Nadal should the Spaniard's form fail to gell.

Serb Novak Djokovic, still searching for a major title since winning the Masters Cup to end last season, is seeded fifth ahead of Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick and Argentine Juan Del Potro.

AFP