Hopes of Roger Federer gracing his presence in Madrid and Rome later this year has been dashed after details of his schedule was outlined by his agent.
Tony Godsick has confirmed that the 20-time grand slam champion is likely to play just one tournament on the clay in 2020, which will be the French Open. Meaning that he will be taking a seven-week break from the tour during that time. Last May Federer played his first professional match on the surface in almost three years at the Madrid Open. Despite his lengthy absence from the surface, he was still able to reach the semi-finals of the 2019 French Open.
“As his schedule states, he plans on playing just Roland Garros,” Godsick told Reuters.
The 38-year-old has only played on the clay during one out of his past four seasons on the tour. He has previously decided to skip the clay due to either injury or wanting to rest his body ahead of the grass season. A key time of the year for the Swiss player.
If the current schedule remains the same, Federer will play at the Miami Open, which will get underway on March 25 at The Hard Rock Stadium. Following the tournament, he will take almost two months away from competitive tennis before playing at the French Open. The Grand slam tournament starts on May 24th.
In recent weeks there has been indications that the world No.3 may be taking a lengthy break from the sport. Speaking to reporters during his Match for Africa exhibition with Rafael Nadal, he mentioned that he will soon be having a ‘longer period without a trip’ to spend more time with his family.
“Soon we will have a longer phase without a trip again,” he said.
“I am constantly discussing with Mirka how we can find the easiest solution for the children, and mostly that’s the best for my tennis.”
So far this year, Federer played in just one tournament at the Australian Open last month. Where he reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. However, it was a far from smooth journey. During certain matches in Melbourne, Federer struggled physically.
Despite his light schedule nowadays, the Swiss maestro believes there is still time for him to add to his record-breaking grand slam tally.
“Yes, I do believe that,” he stated.
“I think by having the year that I had last year, also with what I have in my game, how I’m playing, I do feel that, yeah.”
Federer will return to action next week at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
