Federer may not participate in French Open
Roger Federer may yet extend his break from competitive action and skip the French Open if he feels he is not “really fired up” to compete at Roland Garros.
The Swiss great has enjoyed a remarkable resurgence following an injury-plagued 2016, winning the Australian Open in January before triumphing at Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami.
Following his Miami Open success last month, Federer announced his intention to miss the bulk of the clay-court season – in a bid to limit the risk of further injury setbacks – before returning at Roland Garros in late May.
However, the 35-year-old has said it is not certain he will play in an event that has provided him with just one of his 18 grand slam titles to date.
“I don’t think I will skip it, but I will have to see how I feel when I get on the clay, how my mood is then,” Federer told CNN Sport.
“If I feel like I’m not 100 per cent in it, that I’m [not] really fired up and believe that something’s possible, then it is better to skip it.
“But then I think maybe the break is a long one again. It will be 10 weeks until the grass, that could be a bit long. I think I will play the French.”
Federer’s sole French Open triumph came in 2009, although he has been a beaten finalist at Roland Garros on four occasions.
