Roger Federer never contemplated retirement as he spent 13 months on the sidelines due to double knee surgery last year and the 39-year-old says he is now pain-free and ready to play again with a feeling that his story is not over yet.

The Swiss maestro will make his return at this week’s Qatar Open. “I’m very happy to be back playing a tournament again,” Federer told reporters on Sunday.

“For now it’s about ‘Let’s see how matches go, let’s see how training goes’ ,” he said.

“I know I need to go back to training after here again so from this standpoint it’s just about building up to being stronger, better, fitter, faster.

“Retirement was never really on the cards. I just feel like my story is not over. I’m still a work in progress.”