It's official: Federer will not play Madrid or Rome

[BeatlesFan]

OFFICIAL: Roger Federer to skip Madrid and Rome, will come back at Roland Garros
Gatto Luigi - 4-07-2017 - View: 19967

Tennis - The Swiss player won't play Monte Carlo neither

If until a few days ago Roger Federer's absence from all the clay-courts events before Roland Garros wasn't confirmed yet, now it's official. On Friday morning the Swiss player withdrew from the entry list of Madrid and Rome events.

At first he was there, but for the only fact that they are mandatory Masters 1000 events for most of the players, even if Roger can skip three of them per year as he is an over 30 player, has played 600 matches in career and turned professional more than 12 years ago. And those three Masters 1000s at the moment will be Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome.

Roger will come back to the competition at the Roland Garros, which starts on May 28. During this month and a half break, Federer, after playing the Match for Africa 3 against Andy Murray in Zurich next Monday, will practice again on hard-courts, then he will go Seattle to play Match for Africa 4 with John Isner and Bill Gates on April 29, and from mid-May he will start to practice on clay-courts ahead of the second Grand Slam of the season, that he will play at 99.9%.

We leave that 0.1% for the simple fact that Federer admitted that being away from clay as most as possible is good for his body. So how will he react when he will come back on that surface for the first time in a year? That's the question mark, that should not be worrying seeing how he played in the first three months of the season.

http://www.**************.org/news/...rid-and-rome-will-come-back-at-roland-garros/

 

[GabeT]

Smart move. He's playing very well. Should focus on the tournaments where he has the greatest chances.

 

[tennis_pro]

Well, theoretically he could still ask for a WC but looks like he won't take this route.

I still think he can have a decent run at the FO. Depending on what Nadal does he could be ranked 4th before the French.

Those ehxos are completely pointless btw.

 

[Meles]

Well, theoretically he could still ask for a WC but looks like he won't take this route.

I still think he can have a decent run at the FO. Depending on what Nadal does he could be ranked 4th before the French.

No reason it can't be like Australia and injured Murray and Djokovic may not be near top form come RG; just needs the right draw.

 

[Meles]

OFFICIAL: Roger Federer to skip Madrid and Rome, will come back at Roland Garros
Gatto Luigi - 4-07-2017 - View: 19967

Tennis - The Swiss player won't play Monte Carlo neither

If until a few days ago Roger Federer's absence from all the clay-courts events before Roland Garros wasn't confirmed yet, now it's official. On Friday morning the Swiss player withdrew from the entry list of Madrid and Rome events.

At first he was there, but for the only fact that they are mandatory Masters 1000 events for most of the players, even if Roger can skip three of them per year as he is an over 30 player, has played 600 matches in career and turned professional more than 12 years ago. And those three Masters 1000s at the moment will be Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome.

Roger will come back to the competition at the Roland Garros, which starts on May 28. During this month and a half break, Federer, after playing the Match for Africa 3 against Andy Murray in Zurich next Monday, will practice again on hard-courts, then he will go Seattle to play Match for Africa 4 with John Isner and Bill Gates on April 29, and from mid-May he will start to practice on clay-courts ahead of the second Grand Slam of the season, that he will play at 99.9%.

We leave that 0.1% for the simple fact that Federer admitted that being away from clay as most as possible is good for his body. So how will he react when he will come back on that surface for the first time in a year? That's the question mark, that should not be worrying seeing how he played in the first three months of the season.

http://www.**************.org/news/...rid-and-rome-will-come-back-at-roland-garros/

Is Gatto accurate here? Monte Carlo is not required.

 

[cc0509]

No reason it can't be like Australia and injured Murray and Djokovic may not be near top form come RG; just needs the right draw.

???? Didn't Nadal recently say that Djokovic isn't injured? How can he be injured if he's playing DC?

 

[metsman]

well he knows best. But it would have been a good opportunity to pick up points.

 

[tenisdecente]

I still think that he should play Rome, both for conditions and for giving a new chance to win it, even if his chances are not huge - still, I am not 100% sure he will avoid all clay masters...

 

[Meles]

???? Didn't Nadal recently say that Djokovic isn't injured? How can he be injured if he's playing DC?

He's been playing with a shakey arm for a year now (serve velocity on first serve down conservatively 5 mph from a few years ago, and the great Becker inspired 2nd serve is surprisingly missing too). Just skipped Miami; beating Djokovic at this point in time is about like beating peak Berdbrain. Djokoray will not be able to find top form instanteously. I'd be surprised if they play all three clay masters 1000 especially Rome and Madrid back to back. Murray last year was quite shakey after extended break after Auz Open and slowly found some form on clay. He's in about the same spot this year with a flakey elbow. The state of Djokovic's game may be worse and take even longer to find form; he did OK in Doha with a walkover geriatric draw, but otherwise he's not done much since last year's US Open.

I'll have say I've seen quite a bit of Murray for years and he looked a bit haggard at Miami on the court and even in the practice sessions. I've not watched a lot of Murray practice sessions, but Murray is suddenly looking suspiciously older after his stellar Fall last year. I thought Murray might escape significant decline for some time based on last Fall, but he's had a really shakey year and I'm beginning to wonder if he'll ever find top form again. Djokoray have really fallen off a cliff with both only winning events absolutely loaded with geriatrics. I really hope I'm wrong in the case of Murray. (Murray's points won for 2017 is quite healthy on hard courts so I'm probably way off on this gut instinct, but Djokovic stats are way, way down on points.)

 

[Sereger]

Still hoping Fed to ask for a WC in Rome.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Still hoping Fed to ask for a WC in Rome.

Me too. Darren Cahill said again on Monday he thinks Fed will do this.

 

[Fedeonic]

Is Gatto accurate here? Monte Carlo is not required.

According to ATP Rulebook, the reduction of M1000s is from the 8 mandatory M1000s, so Montecarlo is not required. Roger can still withdraw from another M1000, one of those won't be Cincinnati by sure (Real Slam).
http://www.atpworldtour.com/-/media/files/rulebook/2017/2017-atp-rulebook_chapter-ix.pdf

 

[6-3 6-0]

Still hoping Fed to ask for a WC in Rome.

One can only hope provided he doesn't jeopardize his body in the process. I don't care about tournament wins on clay atm but the valuable points which may prove to be very crucial at end of the year

 

[Jackuar]

I want him to play any one just to pick up some match practice. Roger, you there?

 

[Waspsting]

Interesting choice.

Suggests his body isn't in great shape and/or he doesn't think he can do much on clay and/or isn't thinking about the world rankings much

The tweaks he made to his game are optimal for enhancing his clay performances, probably more so than grass

 

[guitarra]

Interesting choice.

Suggests his body isn't in great shape and/or he doesn't think he can do much on clay and/or isn't thinking about the world rankings much

The tweaks he made to his game are optimal for enhancing his clay performances, probably more so than grass

Yes, he's body is not in great shape and he's not 24 anymore. It a no-brainer. And so many haters were bashing him for taking MTO after 3 gruelling 5-setters at the AO.

 

[timnz]

It will be weird for him re. Practice in April and May. I bet he will be doing clay work but also supplementing it with grass work eg intensive volley practice

 

[Deleted member 742196]

Good strategic decision. But perhaps from a points perspective, play Rome & Madrid and skip French Open entirely.

 

[Pyrolysis]

Cool, although I don't think MC counts as a mandatory masters for the purpose of skipping it, and also I think Federer can actually skip as many as he wants now that he meets all three criteria for being allowed to skip.

 

[tennis08tarheels]

Cool, although I don't think MC counts as a mandatory masters for the purpose of skipping it, and also I think Federer can actually skip as many as he wants now that he meets all three criteria for being allowed to skip.

I was reading the official ATP rules the other day and this is my understanding as well, that if you meet all three criteria (31+ years old, 12+ years on tour, 600+ matches) then you are completely exempt from any "mandatory" events excluding the WTF.

 

[ZiggyStardust]

It will be weird for him re. Practice in April and May. I bet he will be doing clay work but also supplementing it with grass work eg intensive volley practice

He said he's going to practice exclusively on hard courts, and only switch to clay two weeks before the FO. This is why I was absolutely sure he would miss Madrid. If he's only going to phone in the clay season anyway, he might as well play in Rome without practicing. He always says that he dislikes practice and enjoys matches more.

 

[Sartorius]

It's fairly certain he cares little to none about ranking points. He probably expects the others to pick up steam and have a better shot at No 1. That's a long-term battle he has no interest in, and/or he knows he may pay a price if he goes for it.

I think this is also another sign he's willing to play at least 3-4 more years. There might be even more breaks going forward.

 

[limmt]

He can skip 3 mandatory events.

My guess is that the 3rd he'll skip is Montreal.

And then, depending on his form, he might even skip Bercy at the end of the year, he never enjoyed playing there.

 

[tennis08tarheels]

He can skip 3 mandatory events.

Nope. We already covered this. He can skip as many as he wants.

 

[Fedinkum]

Smart move, Bill Gate will teach Roger a thing or 2 about "Surface" action...

 

[bjk]

Fed would rather have three grand slams than be number one.

 

[NGM]

Nadal can't win all the clay tournaments he plays. There are 3500 points up to grab in the clay season but I guess Nadal will get 2500 points or so after Rome. With that he will be ahead of Federer by only 700 points before both players enter French Open.

700 points are pretty small amount and there's nothing to worry about especially if we consider how bad Nadal was historically in the second half of seasons.

So basically if Federer keeps playing well his chance to finish the tour as no1 will be unshakable even without clay season.

 

[TripleATeam]

Nadal can't win all the clay tournaments he plays. There are 3500 points up to grab in the clay season but I guess Nadal will get 2500 points or so after Rome. With that he will be ahead of Federer by only 700 points before both players enter French Open.

700 points are pretty small amount and there's nothing to worry about especially if we consider how bad Nadal was historically in the second half of seasons.

So basically if Federer keeps playing well his chance to finish the tour as no1 will be unshakable even without clay season.

You expect Nadal to win 2 masters and a 500? Or 2 masters finals, 1 win, and a 500 final?

 

[chjtennis]

I kind of expected this. I'd say it is a wise move. He wants to focus on achieving the bigger things - 8th Wimby. At 35 and almost 36, he has to sacrifice something to gain others. He'll be fresh for the grass season this way. I also expect him to skip Stuttgart if he goes deep in RG.

 

[NGM]

You expect Nadal to win 2 masters and a 500? Or 2 masters finals, 1 win, and a 500 final?

I think he can win Barcelona and 1 Masters.

 

[MasturB]

This will be a weird year where Fedr wins the calendar slam but Ralph will be year end #1 because he will have gone deep/won most non slams that Lord Fedr doesn't win.

 

[KINGROGER]

According to ATP Rulebook, the reduction of M1000s is from the 8 mandatory M1000s, so Montecarlo is not required. Roger can still withdraw from another M1000, one of those won't be Cincinnati by sure (Real Slam).
http://www.atpworldtour.com/-/media/files/rulebook/2017/2017-atp-rulebook_chapter-ix.pdf

So does this mean Federer is guaranteed to play 2/3 of Canada, Shanghai and Paris?

 

[ncgator]

No reason a rested Federer can't make a deep run or even win FO like he did AO. The rest also improves his chances of winning another Wimbledon Championship. I like it.

 

[KINGROGER]

Nadal can't win all the clay tournaments he plays. There are 3500 points up to grab in the clay season but I guess Nadal will get 2500 points or so after Rome. With that he will be ahead of Federer by only 700 points before both players enter French Open.

700 points are pretty small amount and there's nothing to worry about especially if we consider how bad Nadal was historically in the second half of seasons.

So basically if Federer keeps playing well his chance to finish the tour as no1 will be unshakable even without clay season.

I think optimistically speaking, we can expect perhaps MC, Barcelona, Madrid SF, Rome F. That's 2460.

I think realistically however he won't go deep in all those events. He's not the player he once was, and I could see him being blasted off clay by a Wawrinka or Thiem.

 

[TheMusicLover]

Totally expected, totally a wise decision.

Fed isn't a spring chicken anymore, and needs his rest in between tournaments.
If anything, nobody should ever question Fed's (and his team's) tour scheduling qualities. This fellow knows exactly what he's doing.

See you back at RG later, Alligator!

 

[TheMusicLover]

This will be a weird year where Fedr wins the calendar slam but Ralph will be year end #1 because he will have gone deep/won most non slams that Lord Fedr doesn't win.

Wouldn't mind seeing that happening at all.

 

[Waspsting]

So does this mean Federer is guaranteed to play 2/3 of Canada, Shanghai and Paris?

Nope.

He can do whatever he wants because he's old, been around forever and won more matches than he can count

... if you meet all three criteria (31+ years old, 12+ years on tour, 600+ matches) then you are completely exempt from any "mandatory" events excluding the WTF.

 

[TripleATeam]

I think he can win Barcelona and 1 Masters.

2500 points can only be achieved a certain number of ways. 600 points per runner up, 1000 per title. Assume he wins the 500. That's 2000 more points he needs. 600 per runner up is not enough at the remaining 3 events- he needs to win one. Assume he wins one. He then needs 1000 points to get 2500. He can only achieve 1000 points in the remaining two tournaments by 2 ways. Win one and do anything in the other or make both finals.

To recap, 4 ways to reach 2500-
1. Win 500, 2 Masters wins.
2. Final 500, 1 Masters win, 2 Masters F.
3. Final 500, 2 Masters wins, 1 Masters SF.
4. 2 Masters wins and 1 Masters final.

 

[D.Nalby12]

Ruins in Rusty.

 

[NGM]

2500 points can only be achieved a certain number of ways. 600 points per runner up, 1000 per title. Assume he wins the 500. That's 2000 more points he needs. 600 per runner up is not enough at the remaining 3 events- he needs to win one. Assume he wins one. He then needs 1000 points to get 2500. He can only achieve 1000 points in the remaining two tournaments by 2 ways. Win one and do anything in the other or make both finals.

To recap, 4 ways to reach 2500-
1. Win 500, 2 Masters wins.
2. Final 500, 1 Masters win, 2 Masters F.
3. Final 500, 2 Masters wins, 1 Masters SF.
4. 2 Masters wins and 1 Masters final.

It's not exactly the number. But I think he will win Barcelona because it's relatively easy and one Masters because the lack of dominant player. So it's 1500 points. For the other 2 Masters I don't think he can win them both, too physically demanding and he is not a dominant player himself, so one final and one semifinal or 2 final if he plays very well.

It could be about 2460 -2700 points but I choose an average number.

 

[jwjh]

While the rest of the tour slog through the long claycourt season...

 

[Roddick85]

I'm not sure why anyone is even surprised by this, it's what makes the most sense in the world. Roger is almost 36 years old, so he needs to be smart about his schedule. Roger's not a bad clay court player (contrary to popular belief), but it's still by far his worst surface and the one that's the most taxing on the body with the longer rallies usually associated to it, so it's not too kind to older players. So why exhaust himself for the next 6 weeks and be tired when the next 4-5 weeks are played on grass right after, his best/favorite surface? We all know how much Wimbledon means to him and how much he enjoys playing on grass, he's still one of the best if not the best grass court player on tour right now. So Roger saving himself up to peak around Wimbledon makes a lot of sense to me. Also, let's not forget that the North American hard court season follows not too long after, Cincinnati/USO are places where Federer still has a higher chance of victory than anything on clay. Skipping the next 6 weeks to concentrate on the summer tournaments is a smart move by Federer.

 

[Shaolin]

Good move. He already proved he can win a slam with 6 months off, 2 is no big deal.

Classic Betta fish strategy...Let everyone else tire themselves out fighting and take advantage of the weakened opponent at the end

 

[6-3 6-0]

While the rest of the tour slog through the long claycourt season...

lmao where was this?

 

[jwjh]

lmao where was this?

 

[Charlemagne]

Could we say that Fed is semi-retired at this stage? Haha

 

[SpinToWin]

I still think it'd be better to skip the French Open and start practising on grass earlier.

 

[Tennisanity]

I think playing FO is a mistake, gonna do something to the knee.

 

[Steve0904]

I still think it'd be better to skip the French Open and start practising on grass earlier.

I'm starting to think this as well. I mean I know why he probably won't skip RG. Because it's a slam and he might as well enter it and see what happens, but really his chances are extremely slim so practicing on grass while the others are beating themselves up on clay might be the best idea.

 

[SpinToWin]

I'm starting to think this as well. I mean I know why he probably won't skip RG. Because it's a slam and he might as well enter it and see what happens, but really his chances are extremely slim so practicing on grass while the others are beating themselves up on clay might be the best idea.

Precisely. Stuttgart and Halle will give him the match practice he needs, and then he will be well prepared and rested for SW19