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Tonight, five-time U.S. Open champion Roger Federer returns to Arthur Ashe Stadium. “It’s nerve-racking, to be honest,” Federer said during a press conference yesterday. “I haven’t played a single set in—I don’t know, [Hubert] Hurkacz at Wimbledon maybe, so it’s been five years,” he added, referring to his final match at Wimbledon in 2021, when he lost in the quarterfinals to Poland’s Hurkacz. “There is a lot of uncertainty but a lot of happiness that I can return to Arthur Ashe, a place where I have had so many beautiful moments.” In an event titled “Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York,” he will play with Andy Roddick, John McEnroe and Andre Agassi. (Tickets are still available.) It will be his first time playing at the U.S. Open since 2019. Later this week, he will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. “It’s just nice to connect with the tennis community again,” Federer said. “That’s why I try to go to four, five events throughout the season. But this one is obviously special, you know, with The Icon Returns to New York, and then going to Newport, Rhode Island, and going for the first time over there, actually. Getting inducted right away is obviously super special. It means a lot.” He described coming back to the U.S. Open as just “one more time,” explaining, “life goes quick, especially when you have four children. You stop remembering what you did or what you have been through. It’s like going into a time machine and everything slows down for a second and you can actually look back one more time. Because I don’t need it in my life, but it’s nice when it does happen, because my life on tour was amazing. I loved it.” Federer added that his kids with wife Mirka, girl twins Myla and Charlene, 17, and boy twins Leo and Lenny, 12, “are getting older so they can also maybe enjoy it a little bit seeing their dad play.” He said “I don’t think they remember a whole lot of the U.S. Open, to be quite honest...I hope it’s all a special occasion for them.” Later in the press conference, he was asked if he had the opportunity to come back and play one more main draw, who he’d want to play. Federer named Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. “We only practiced together a little bit as they were coming up,” he said. “So I missed that generation, unfortunately, a little bit. There is a bunch of those guys I just missed just because of my knee issue. Obviously Novak would be cool, too. He’s still going strong. He’s still hanging in there, which is cool. So I’m thinking mostly obviously about those guys.” However, he qualified he would never return in any real capacity. “The body is done,” he said. “I’m very happy how I’m feeling—just a fan now.” Emily Burack (she/her) is the Deputy Digital Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms.