Roger Federer returned to Monte Carlo for practice today.
The four-time finalist may well reunite with friend and sometime doubles partner Stan Wawrinka in a rematch of the 2014 final when the tournament heats up next week.
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The second-seeded Federer has a first-round bye and will face either Frenchman Jeremy Chardy or a qualifier in his second-round match.
It will be Federer's first match since falling to Novak Djokovic in last month's Indian Wells' final and his first clay-court match since he swept Richard Gasquet to clinch Switzerland's first Davis Cup championship last November.
A year ago, Federer defeated Djokovic in the Monte Carlo semifinals before losing to Wawrinka in the three-set final. If the seeds hold true to form, the Swiss Davis Cup teammates would collide in the quarterfinals.
The seventh-seeded Wawrinka has a first-round bye and will play either Juan Monaco or Jiri Vesely in round two. Wawrinka warmed up for his title defense hitting with Rafael Nadal on stadium court while Uncle Toni Nadal watched.
Eight-time Monte Carlo champion Nadal will play either Dominic Thiem or French wild card Lucas Pouille in his opener with a potential quarterfinal against No. 5 seed David Ferrer and a possible semifinal with world No. 1 Djokovic. The Serb will face either Nicolas Almagro or Bernard Tomic in his second-round match after a bye.
If the seeds hold, the quarterfinals at Monte-Carlo will be as follows:
Djokovic vs. Cilic
Nadal vs. Ferrer
Berdych vs. Raonic
Federer vs. Wawrinka
View the complete draw here
Photo credit: Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Facebook