Roger Federer
Tennis - Monte Carlo Masters - Monaco, 12/04/2016. Roger Federer of Switzerland plays a shot to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain. Reuters/Eric Gaillard

Roger Federer will attempt to continue his impressive post-knee surgery form against Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in Round of 16 of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Federer made his return to tennis action after being sidelined for more than two months due to a knee surgery that repaired a torn left meniscus. Despite being in the shelves for a lengthy time, Federer showed no signs of rustiness when he defeated Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3 6-4 in the second round of the tournament.

"The knee felt really good, like in practice. Felt like I didn't have to worry about it. I could just go freely," Federer said, reports the ATP’s official website. “Also emotionally, I was excited and tense in the beginning, just because it's a first round. It's my first match back. So it was nice to go through all these emotions."

Federer’s match against Bautista Agut will be their fifth career meeting, with the Swiss Maestro leading by 4-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup. Their most recent battle was last year at the Cincinnati Masters, where Federer defeated the Spaniard en route to a final round victory over career rival Novak Djokovic.

Bautista Agut was impressive himself in his second round match against Jeremy Chardy, although the world No. 17 had to take the Frenchman in three sets 6-3 5-7 7-5. Federer may have been in good shape in his first competitive match since the Australian Open semifinals, but his knee would still be a concern, considering the physicality needed in playing on clay-surface.

The winner between Federer and Bautista Agut will face either France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Lucas Pouille. Tsonga defeated Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6(1) 7-6(5), while Pouille scored an upset over Richard Gasquet 4-6 7-5 6-1.

Live streaming info and score updates

Watch the Monte Carlo Masters 2016 live via ATP’s official website or TennisTV. Live scores for matches will be available on game days via ATP's official website.

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