Rafael Nadal has a love for the competition, but nobody loves tennis like Roger Federer: Mats Wilander

Roger Federer is all set to make his long-awaited return to professional tennis at the ATP 250 event in Doha this week. The 39-year-old has spent nearly 14 months on the sidelines with a serious knee injury that required multiple operations, but he now seems fit and raring to go.

In that context, seven-time Grand Slam champion and former World No. 1 Mats Wilander has claimed that Federer's return at the age of almost 40 shows how passionate the Swiss is about tennis.

"The fact that he returns at almost 40 shows the incredible passion that drives him," Wilander wrote in his column for L'Equipe.

Mats Wilander even drew parallels between Roger Federer's love for the game and that of his greatest rival Rafael Nadal. According to Wilander, while the Spaniard may have a special liking for doing battle on the court, Federer loves tennis itself in a way that nobody else does.

"I have never seen someone who loves tennis as much as he does. Rafael Nadal has a love for the competition, but Federer loves the game," Wilander asserted.

"Roger Federer is not afraid of losing 6-1 6-1 against a rookie and damaging his image" - Mats Wilander

Roger Federer

Mats Wilander further went on to claim that even though Roger Federer's return at such an advanced age puts him at risk of being defeated by relatively unknown players, the Swiss is not afraid of the consequences.

"This comeback shows that Roger has guts," Wilander added. "He is not afraid of losing 6-1 6-1 against a rookie and damaging his image. Many would be, while Federer only thinks about solving his problems."

Mats Wilander to L'Equipe: "Roger Federer's comeback at almost 40 years of age shows the incredible passion that drives him. I have never seen someone who loves tennis as much as he does. Nadal has a passion for competition. Roger, he's interested in the game of tennis."

— Luigi Gatto (@LuisGatTWI) March 8, 2021

All eyes are firmly on Roger Federer as he makes his return in Doha amid a packed field. The 20-time Grand Slam champion is the second seed in Qatar, with Dominic Thiem leading the way.

The draw also features the in-form Andrey Rublev, who recently won the title in Rotterdam for his fourth ATP 500 trophy in a row. Stan Wawrinka, Roberto Bautista Agut, Denis Shapovlaov and David Goffin are the othe big names in the fray.

Roger Federer is set to play either Jeremy Chardy or Dan Evans in the second round, and next week he will also be playing the ATP 500 event in Dubai - for which he accepted a last-minute wildcard.

Still got it, @rogerfederer 😉@QatarTennis pic.twitter.com/kq7nmmsD1T

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 9, 2021

Roger Federer has had similar injury scares in the past, most notably in 2016. He managed to script a fairytale comeback at that time; returning to the tour after six months in 2017, Federer won the Australian Open, Indian Wells Masters and Miami Masters consecutively.

But with complications caused by the pandemic and an increasingly competitive ATP circuit, it is uncertain whether the 39-year-old can ever return to his dominant ways.