Roger Federer hopes to start a comeback, of sorts, in Toronto

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Federer hopes to start comeback in Toronto

TORONTO — Since his last competitive match, Roger Federer has fought off aches and illness, fallen from No. 1 in the rankings and hired a coach.

Now his body feels better. Whether his game is improved will be seen starting Tuesday, when he begins play at the Rogers Cup in the second round.

“Being ranked No. 3 in the world is something I haven’t been in a very long time,” Federer said Monday. “I’m doing all the right things. It’s, to me, just a matter of time. But guys are getting good and it’s inspiring for me also to get better.”

Federer has won 62 singles titles on the ATP World Tour, but only one this year.

He took the Australian Open in January — his 16th Grand Slam title — but was forced to withdraw from a tournament in Dubai the following month with a lung infection. He has not played competitively since his quarterfinal loss to Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon in June.

He has spent several weeks working with Paul Annacone, whose former pupils include Pete Sampras and Marat Safin.

“I don’t think I was frustrated after my loss from Wimbledon,” Federer said. “I was disappointed that my body wasn’t holding up and that Berdych played such a good match and that I couldn’t defend my Wimbledon dream again.”

The third-seeded Federer will face Juan Ignacio Chela, who beat Alejandro Falla 6-1, 6-3 on Monday. The top eight seeds were granted byes into the second round.

In other first-round matches, Canadian Peter Polansky upset No. 13 seed Jurgen Melzer 7-6, 6-4.

“What I’m most proud of tonight is how I stayed focused in front of a big crowd at home,” Polansky said. “I just played my game throughout the match without too many nerves.”

Also, Sergiy Stakhovsky defeated Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-1, Tommy Robredo topped Jarkko Nieminen 6-1, 6-4, Kevin Anderson beat Leonardo Mayer 7-6 (2), 6-4, Julian Benneteau ousted Denis Istomin 6-4, 6-4 and Victor Hanescu beat 19-year-old Canadian wild-card entry Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4.