Roger Federer: 'I didn't miss clay a lot. I skipped it for my longevity'
After his win over Richard Gasquet in Madrid, Roger Federer was asked how much he missed clay in those three years.
Federer admitted the break from the surface was needed in order to give a rest to his body. "I mean, look, not too much, to be quite honest with you. I'd love to tell you, I miss it so much. Once you take a decision -- I mean, I missed it in '16 because I was in Paris. I was really trying everything to get in shape and that was a very frustrating period for me. When I came here I had to pull out because my knee was swollen and I played Rome because I had a bad back and a bad knee because I broke my back here on top of all things, so that's maybe when I missed playing Paris the most. The following year, it was a decision for my longevity, for my health, for my family. Last year, I just felt like, you know what, it worked so well in '17, let's do the same thing again in '18. And I didn't really miss it because I was enjoying myself at home and having a good time and again, looking at the longevity. Once the decision was upon me again for this year, if I would have skipped the clay again, I think I would have felt like that's not the right decision. I would have always felt regrets not being on the clay in 2019 because my knee problem is far enough away now because that was still playing a little bit part of our decision in '17 to be quite honest, not from my side but more from the team."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/30chVaV
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