By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, May 15, 2017
Roger Federer will skip Roland Garros in order to prepare for the grass and hard court seasons.
Photo credit: AP
Roger Federer’s Roland Garros is over before it began.
The 18-time Grand Slam champion announced he will not play this month’s French Open.
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It marks the second straight year the 35-year-old Swiss will skip the clay-court Grand Slam.
The 2009 Roland Garros champion said he opted to forgo the French Open in order to prepare for grass and hard-court seasons.
Federer reached the Wimbledon semifinals last year and captured his fifth Australian Open title earlier this year.
“Regrettably, I've decided not to participate in the French Open,” Federer said in a statement posted on his website. “I've been working really hard, both on and off the court, during the last month but in order to try and play on the ATP World Tour for many years to come, I feel it's best to skip the clay court season this year and prepare for the grass and hard court seasons."
Given Federer has not played a tournament match since defeating rival Rafael Nadal in the Miami Open final on April 2nd to capture his third title in four tournaments this season, his decision is not a major surprise.
The five-time French Open finalist would have been trying to adapt to clay without any match play on the surface making for a challenging transition.
Federer's last French Open final appearance was in 2011. He has contested the Wimbledon final in 10 of the last 14 years.
"The start to the year has been magical for me but I need to recognize that scheduling will be the key to my longevity moving forward.," Federer said. "Thus, my team and I concluded today that playing just one event on clay was not in the best interest of my tennis and physical preparation for the remainder of the season. I will miss the French fans, who have always been so supportive and I look forward to seeing them at Roland Garros next year."