So if Roger wins IW he is now guaranteed no1 throughout the clay season up to Grass (Wimbledon at least) now Rafa has pulled out of IW/Miami. Should Roger consider skipping Miami and heading to the clay at Monte carlo? If he plays Miami as well as IW, Monte Carlo is off the cards. Would be good to see Roger have another attempt at MC or Rome this year. Head says he probably skips clay again but we will see now with the Rafa news.
If Fed wins Indian wells- play Miami or skip and have a final attempt at Monte Carlo/ Rome?
- Thread starter DanG7
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Deleted member 756486
Guest
Fed should avoid clay like the plague.
Sum Buddy Ells
Hall of Fame
Depends on when he's in the mood to rake in Title #100
Jontyg
Rookie
Agreed..avoid clay at all costs.
IW, Miami, Halle, Wimby, Cincy, US open, Shangai, WTF...
No rogers cup...which basically screwed up his us open last year..
letstakeourshirtsoff
Professional
every new thread about fedr playing/not playing clay should get the OP an insta-perma-uber-ban.
True Fanerer
G.O.A.T.
Federer said recently that he dreams of returning to RG. I don't see a better opportunity than now. If so, he has to play a warm up somewhere.
Oh no , please don't Insta-perma-uber-ban me....
Tennisanity
Legend
No, the sliding on clay is not good for Fed's knee. It's good for Nadal's though apparently 
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Deleted member 756486
Guest
How could he not play a tournament with his name in it?
letstakeourshirtsoff
Professional
Just thought that it' was worth asking the question. World no1 would be safe if he won IW. He could then skip miami. He's in great form, Rafa is injured/not 100%, probably one of his last chances at the MC and Rome masters. I understand Grass is the priority and his best chance at another major now but I'd love to see him play on clay one more time.
HetTheGreaterer
Banned
If he is high on something and out of his mind, he will surely do that
HetTheGreaterer
Banned
Nadal is not the only threat to federer on clay. He will not even reach nadal, and 0.01% chances of however he reaches nadal, he will be so exhaustee that there will be a humiliation like RG08
Bra where did I say he was gonna win? All I asked was should be give it another go? Confident he would be there or thereabouts on anyway.
MeatTornado
Talk Tennis Guru
I think that's exactly what Fed wants to figure out. Hence why he said he'll make his clay decision after Indian Wells, unlike last year where he said he'd decide after Miami.
moonballs
Hall of Fame
Don’t be greedy Fed fans. Fed has nothing to prove on clay. He failed to beat Nadal in RG final but nobody has, and only one player beat Nadal in Nadal’s prime years. Another RG without beating Nadal can’t possibly be as good as the record making 9th W, 6 US or 7th Aussie. Fed should just make a public statement saying he done playing on clay.
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MasturB
Legend
Im(moral) Winner
G.O.A.T.
He will be in Africa in April with his foundation so I doubt he will even bother thinking of Monte Carlo...
zagor
Bionic Poster
That's if you presume Nadal was the only or the biggest factor in Fed skipping clay last year, I still don't buy that.
And besides Nadal tends to spring to life on clay no matter how lacklustre the rest of his season may be up to that point. Something I'm sure Fed is well aware of.
You forgot Basel in the schedule. Otherwise, agree.
If he skips clay, he might add Stuttgart again before Halle, what do you think ?
Most likely scenario, indeed ! I'm gonna bet my house on it
And how do you know he wouldn’t have gotten injured if he played Cincy last year?
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kalyan4fedever
Legend
play indian wells, win or not skip miami and play 1 clay masters and then RG
I Am Finnish
Bionic Poster
Fedr is not skipping miami and plays not a full Clay season
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Deleted member 512391
Guest
I hope he skips the whole clay season, his schedule from the last year was perfect (excluding the Rogers Cup). No need to risk any injury at this stage of his career, just to follow the last year's pattern and get himself ready for the grass.
oldmanfan
Legend
How could he not play a tournament with his name in it?
Because they misspelled it.
oldmanfan
Legend
I have good news for you!
He will likely play some clay in his farewell tour in Olympic-year 2024.
I think he should only play Stuttgart if he still has a contract (does he?) and wants to fulfill it. If not, skip it bc 2 back-to-back weeks of grass tees just one week before WB is risking overplay, even if small, at this juncture.
Nothing should jeopardize his chances at Wimby. I think he makes Wimby his #1 priority each year from now on (I agree), and he should not lose focus of this even though he'd won AO.
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BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
Not in a million years.
HetTheGreaterer
Banned
Why on the earth will federer skip a hardcourt masters (won thrice) for useless clay masters
MeatTornado
Talk Tennis Guru
I would consider it for the Olympics, although 90% chance I would still take another slam.
MC/Rome means very little to me because completing the Masters set won't help much with his long-term legacy. Aside from being the largest, the reason the 4 majors are so revered is because they're timeless. The 4 they play today are the same 4 they played 100 years ago.
But just within Fed's own career you can see how much the Masters events have changed. Even if he completes all 9, there's no reason to think in the future they won't change more. What good does 9/9 do you if 20 years from now there are 10 events? Getting all 9 now will provide extra bragging rights today, but I don't think its relevance will stand the test of time like his slam count will. Give me that 21st slam instead, if only for future-proofing.
Federer and Del Potro
Bionic Poster
Well said (as always) MT.
I wondered the same thing about Olympics personally, but then I think back to 2012 and which I'd rather have, the Wimbledon triumph or the Gold, and it was Wimbledon then and it's Wimbledon now.
Sucks he couldn't go for it in 2016 though. That must have hurt. Fed takes the Olympics quite seriously.
falstaff78
Hall of Fame
Yes
Feather
Legend
No way! I don't give a damn to Olympics but Rome and MC are prestigious events.
True Fanerer
G.O.A.T.
Sounds like a plan to me. I'm in.
accidental
Hall of Fame
He should take a few months off and make sure he's fresh for RG
Badabing888
Hall of Fame
There; FIFY.
PMChambers
Hall of Fame
I think Federer is in a mentally strong enough position to play at least one Clay Masters, preferably Rome. I'd like to see him play FO even if it's his only clay tourney but it's very close to his grass court commitments, pity he cant do the more prestigious Queens / Wimbledon double. I think the "clay grind" is more about mentality than physicality There's no more dangerous surface than grass and he's not dodgy or reducing his grass Tourneys even after his fall a few years ago which effected the US HC swing
pame
Hall of Fame
Nope!
La Vigésima
Rookie
duaneeo
Legend
I'd consider Monte Carlo/Rome/another WTF over another Wimbledon, but not another AO, RG, or USO.
Mainad
Bionic Poster
It would be tempting in a way for the sake of a complete record book but I doubt any player, not just Fed, would ever want to give away a Slam!
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Deleted member 77403
Guest
From 2012, Federer had lost only once to Nadal on clay, in Rome 2013. This means that Nadal is no longer the only problem for him on clay, since he only played him once on clay since 2012. Nadal or no Nadal, Federer and clay just don't mix anymore.
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