<p>Roger Federer said Sunday he hopes to play Wimbledon "one more time" despite being sidelined for a year with a knee injury.</p>.<p>"I hope I can come back one more time. I've missed it here," said the eight-time champion as he attended a special ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of Centre Court.</p>.<p>The 40-year-old winner of 20 Grand Slam titles has been out of action since a quarter-final loss at the tournament in 2021 before undergoing another bout of knee surgery.</p>.<p>He plans to return to action at the Laver Cup in London in September and then take part in his home tournament at Basel.</p>.<p>"I knew walking out here last year, it was going to be a tough year ahead," said Federer, who received a standing ovation when he entered the court.</p>.<p>"I maybe didn't think it was going to take this long to come back -- the knee has been rough on me."</p>.<p>Federer, dressed in a dark suit, was one of a host of Wimbledon champions at the ceremony that preceded the programme of matches on middle Sunday, established from this year as a permanent feature.</p>.<p>The Swiss star broke through at Wimbledon in 2001 with his famous win over Pete Sampras before lifting the first of his eight titles two years later.</p>.<p>"I've been lucky enough to play a lot of matches on this court," he added.</p>.<p>"It feels awkward to be here today in a different type of role but great to be here with all the other champions.</p>.<p>"This court has given me my biggest wins and my biggest losses."</p>.<p>Federer was joined at the ceremony by two men responsible for some of those highs and lows -- six-time champion Novak Djokovic and two-time winner Rafael Nadal.</p>.<p>Djokovic defeated Federer in the 2019 final, the longest ever at the tournament, which stretched over five sets and almost five hours.</p>.<p>"I feel more nervous now than when I'm playing," said Djokovic, who will be back on Centre Court later Sunday for his last-16 tie against Tim van Rijthoven.</p>.<p>"This court has been truly special from my childhood and the first image of tennis I've seen, when I was four or five years old I saw Pete Sampras wining his first Wimbledon.</p>.<p>"This is where dreams come true and I was blessed in 2011, probably the highlight of my career, to win the tournament and so when I step out on this court I relive these memories. Truly an honour."</p>.<p>Other past champions included Billie Jean King, Margaret Court, Petra Kvitova, Martina Hingis, Chris Evert and Venus Williams.</p>.<p>Men's winners included John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Chris Evert, Andy Murray and Goran Ivanisevic.</p>.<p>However, nine-time champion Martina Navratilova was unable to join the parade due to testing positive for Covid-19.</p>
<p>Roger Federer said Sunday he hopes to play Wimbledon "one more time" despite being sidelined for a year with a knee injury.</p>.<p>"I hope I can come back one more time. I've missed it here," said the eight-time champion as he attended a special ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of Centre Court.</p>.<p>The 40-year-old winner of 20 Grand Slam titles has been out of action since a quarter-final loss at the tournament in 2021 before undergoing another bout of knee surgery.</p>.<p>He plans to return to action at the Laver Cup in London in September and then take part in his home tournament at Basel.</p>.<p>"I knew walking out here last year, it was going to be a tough year ahead," said Federer, who received a standing ovation when he entered the court.</p>.<p>"I maybe didn't think it was going to take this long to come back -- the knee has been rough on me."</p>.<p>Federer, dressed in a dark suit, was one of a host of Wimbledon champions at the ceremony that preceded the programme of matches on middle Sunday, established from this year as a permanent feature.</p>.<p>The Swiss star broke through at Wimbledon in 2001 with his famous win over Pete Sampras before lifting the first of his eight titles two years later.</p>.<p>"I've been lucky enough to play a lot of matches on this court," he added.</p>.<p>"It feels awkward to be here today in a different type of role but great to be here with all the other champions.</p>.<p>"This court has given me my biggest wins and my biggest losses."</p>.<p>Federer was joined at the ceremony by two men responsible for some of those highs and lows -- six-time champion Novak Djokovic and two-time winner Rafael Nadal.</p>.<p>Djokovic defeated Federer in the 2019 final, the longest ever at the tournament, which stretched over five sets and almost five hours.</p>.<p>"I feel more nervous now than when I'm playing," said Djokovic, who will be back on Centre Court later Sunday for his last-16 tie against Tim van Rijthoven.</p>.<p>"This court has been truly special from my childhood and the first image of tennis I've seen, when I was four or five years old I saw Pete Sampras wining his first Wimbledon.</p>.<p>"This is where dreams come true and I was blessed in 2011, probably the highlight of my career, to win the tournament and so when I step out on this court I relive these memories. Truly an honour."</p>.<p>Other past champions included Billie Jean King, Margaret Court, Petra Kvitova, Martina Hingis, Chris Evert and Venus Williams.</p>.<p>Men's winners included John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Chris Evert, Andy Murray and Goran Ivanisevic.</p>.<p>However, nine-time champion Martina Navratilova was unable to join the parade due to testing positive for Covid-19.</p>