Roger Federer makes his return to action in the German Open in Hamburg on Wednesday desperate to banish the memories of Wimbledon.Federer suffered a shock second round exit at the hands of Ukrainian journeyman Sergiy Stakhovsky at SW19 last month.As a result he dropped to No 5 in the world rankings, the first time he has been outside the top four in 11 years. He has not played at Hamburg since 2008 as he has traditionally taken a long break after either winning the title or finishing as runner-up at Wimbledon.But after his early exit he has chosen to return to action quickly at a tournament he has won four times in the past.MilestoneHis victory in 2002 saw him break into the top 10 in the world for the first time, and he has fond memories of the Hamburg clay courts where he has a 29-4 record.“I had milestone victories here, other milestones where I thought I learned a lot. I took the right decisions, I took the wrong decisions but reacted the right way,” he said.“So for me to come back to Hamburg after losing at Wimbledon, which allows me to play this schedule now, is an interesting situation. I really hope I can do well, win as many matches as possible and hopefully compete for the title here in Hamburg.”The Hamburg centre court is the biggest in Germany, and can hold 13,200. Most seats are likely to be filled when he takes on big-hitting German Daniel Brands in the second round. Brands beat Paolo Lorenzi in the first round on Wednesday to earn a crack at Federer on what will be his 26th birthday.
