Roger Federer to skip entire clay season after early defeat at Miami
What’s the story?
Following a shock second round defeat at the Miami Open, Roger Federer has announced on Saturday that he will be skipping the entire clay season. The Swiss star’s title defence in Miami was brought to an end by the 175th ranked Thanasi Kokkinakis, who came back from a set down to notch up a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) win.
With that loss, Federer is set to relinquish his top ranking to his biggest nemesis, Rafael Nadal when the new world rankings are released on April 2.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who also lost in the final at Indian Wells, later on told the press about his need to take a break and figure out things.
“I decided not to play the clay season,” said Federer. “I am trying to figure things out now, I have some time. I’m a positive thinker, every match is another opportunity. You take a break, get away from it all, and get back to practice court and work,” he added.
In case you didn’t know
This will be the third consecutive year that the Swiss will be missing the French Open. The 2009 champion, who underwent a knee surgery in 2016, played at Monte Carlo and Rome that year before pulling out of the claycourt Major.
In 2017, he chose to opt out of the entire clay season, which he will be repeating this year.
The heart of the matter
After making a smooth start to the match, Federer’s game surprisingly collapsed. As his first serve percentage dwindled, Kokkinakis’ rose to 61% from 42%. That galvanized his comeback and he played a brilliant third set tie-break, where Federer’s backhands totally deserted him.
Federer needed to reach the quarter-finals to ensure that he stayed the No. 1. This outcome thus brings back the 16-time Grand Slam champion Nadal to the pinnacle of the rankings, despite the fact that he hasn’t played since the Australian Open in January.
What’s next?
Federer will be returning to action on the grasscourts of Halle, Germany as he seeks a historic 10th title at the Wimbledon warm-up event. The tournament is scheduled to be held from 18-24 June.
It is also being speculated that he could return a week before at the Stuttgart Open, although nothing has been confirmed yet.
Author’s take
Since Nadal has a massive 4680 points to defend on clay, Federer can hope to have another go at the No. 1 ranking, should the Spaniard slip. But more than that, the Swiss should be focussing on proper rest and recovery so that he can come back and defend his titles at Halle and Wimbledon.