Federer ill at start of season

Roger Federer has revealed he was suffering from glandular fever at the start of this season.

The world number one, who has played in only two events this year including this week’s tournament in Dubai where he was upset in the first round by Andy Murray, revealed on his website he only fully recovered from the virus 10 days ago.

Before his defeat to Murray, Federer had not played since losing to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals.

Federer was diagnosed with food poisoning just prior to Melbourne, which severely disrupted his preparation, and he appeared off his game there despite reaching the last four.

That effort, combined with his loss to Murray, fuelled speculation that Federer’s dominance of the ATP Tour was perhaps nearing an end.

“As you can imagine, the beginning of this season has been rather tough for me,” Federer said on his website. “(Last year) ended with an illness which cost me a lot of energy.

“I was unable to play at the beginning of January. I was still taking antibiotics five days before the Australian Open, making a recovery in time for the tournament impossible.”

The 26-year-old said he began to feel unwell again following his appearance in Australia and decided to see a doctor.

“It was at this time that they found out what was bothering me all along - mononucleosis,” Federer said. “I had had it for six weeks already, meaning it would normally be over.

“It was relieving to finally know why I had felt weak in Australia and also later on. So the good news really is to be certain of what has occurred. The bad news is that I have quite some catching up to do in terms of fitness.”

Federer added he is now training at maximum level, but had only three days of intense training before Dubai.

“The match I played against Andy Murray in Dubai was a good one taking into consideration the circumstances,” Federer said.

“My expectations weren’t all too high, it was a tough draw and Andy certainly played an excellent match.”

Federer will play an exhibition match at Madison Square Garden on Monday against the now-retired Pete Sampras, whose 14 Grand Slam titles are an all-time record, before heading to this week’s tournament at Indian Wells.