Roger Federer: The reason why world No 1 ‘unofficially retired’ from clay court – REVEALED
Wednesday, May 16, 2018 IST
ROGER FEDERER has not lifted a racket for almost seven weeks but will return to the world No 1 spot after Rafael Nadal exited the Madrid Open at the hands of finalist Dominic Thiem earlier this week.
The 37-year-old has never favoured the clay court, winning just 11 of his 97 career titles on the surface – including a French Open victory in 2009.
Earlier this year, he announced he would skip the clay season for the second year in a row following a shock defeat to Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Miami Open in March.
His decision mildly irked rival Rafael Nadal, who appeared to tease him with some interesting comments made to the media.
But, writing for Eurosport this week, tennis analyst Desmond Kane claimed Federer’s reluctance to return to the surface had paid dividends for his career in recent years.
“You do not win at being number one by playing to your weaknesses,” Kane wrote.
“While Nadal was being downed by Dominic Thiem in the Madrid Masters last eight on Friday, Federer was in Dubai helping with the opening of the globe’s biggest Rolex shop.
“Federer’s ability to tell the time without his watch has been key to his flowering during his off season.
“He is number one over the past year having won nine titles. And he is number one on current form in the race to the ATP Tour finals. And he is also number one because he knows his ranking is not built from clay.”
The article goes on to reprint a quote from 2010 that appears to reveal why Federer has wisely conceded defeat on clay.
"I think I am a good clay-court player but there are many, many better players than me," the Swiss superstar said.
Federer is expected to make his comeback at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart in June.
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