(Reuters) - Former world number one Roger Federer said on Friday he was excited to return to competitive tennis at next week’s Qatar Open after a year-long absence. The 20-time Grand Slam champion has not played a tournament since his Australian Open semi-final exit against Novak Djokovic last year, undergoing two knee surgeries since. “Here we are, about to take off to fly to Doha. It’s been a year since my last event,” Federer, 39, said in a video posted on his Twitter feed. “I can tell I’m very excited... it’s been a long and hard road. I know I’m not at the finish line yet but it’s good, I feel I’m in a good place, I’ve been practising very well and I just feel really pumped up.” The Doha Open starts on Monday.