Roger Federer embraces light clay-court schedule for 2020, with Roland Garros as..

Tony Godsick, Roger Federer's agent, has broken the rumors about the 20-time Major champion's upcoming clay schedule, confirming he only plans to compete at Roland Garros! As always in the last couple of seasons, there were many different stories and reports about Roger's plans for this year's clay events, with many of them including Madrid and Rome where he played a year ago. However, there were no confirmations from either Roger himself or the tournament organizers and the situation seems to be much more precise now, with the Swiss star aiming to battle for the title at Roland Garros without playing any official tournaments after Miami. The 38-year-old is still ranked third in the world behind Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, reaching the latter stages at notable events and fighting for Masters 1000 and Major titles despite being among the oldest active players left on the Tour.

Federer was the semi-finalist at Roland Garros a year ago before wasting two match points in the final at Wimbledon and advancing into the last four at the Australian Open a couple of weeks ago, losing only to Nadal and Djokovic in those three encounters. Federer will try to defend the title in Dubai in two weeks, embracing North American swing in Indian Wells and Miami after that and taking almost two months off to charge batteries for Roland Garros and grass swing that follows after that lone clay event. Back in 2016, Federer played Monte Carlo and Rome before skipping Roland Garros for the first time in many years, staying away from the slowest surface in 2017 and 2018 to take as much rest as possible and deliver his best tennis on beloved grass.

That all changed a year ago when Federer made a return to clay in Madrid and Rome, losing to Dominic Thiem after an incredible battle and withdrawing before the clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas ahead of the second Major of the season, traveling to Paris for the first time since 2015. Proving his class and quality yet again, Roger used a favorable draw (no players from the top-60) to reach the quarters without losing a set, beating Stan Wawrinka there in four tight sets to advance into the semis and set another encounter with Rafael Nadal, 14 years after their first Roland Garros semi-final. Nadal won that one 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 en route to his 12th Major on beloved clay, with Federer waiting for another chance of chasing the trophy in Paris, winning it only once in 2009 when he completed a Career Grand Slam.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2HjhTGe