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.
Related Topics
Trending News & Articles
Nanda Vrata is dedicated to Shiva and it is believed that Goddess Sati observed this vrat to get Shiva as her husband. It is observed during Phalgun Shukla Paksha...
Recently posted . 18K views . 3 min read
This question has seeked me ever since I can remember ...from my childhood..in my dreams...in my realisation and my internal assimilation of Lord Krishna as my god....
Recently posted . 9K views . 1 min read
Story of Sharabha and Narasimha
In Hinduism, the ‘trimurti’ (Gods) - Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, are...
Recently posted . 7K views . 1 min read
Have any of you realised how beneficial and helpful the lemon is when kept in a transparent glass of water, what it does? Here is the lemon ...
Recently posted . 6K views . 1 min read
More in Sports
Eid al-Adha 2018: We asked Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan to tell us about the significance of Bakrid, the festival of sacrifice.
...
Recently posted. 1K views . 1 min read
There was a point of time when litigations and court cases were reserved only for the extreme elites. Overtime, business and trade have emerged to a level that even...
Recently posted. 1K views . 3 min read
In this article, we will draw an analogy between the snake and a variety of other things to explain the significance of the cold-blooded animal coiled around the ...
Recently posted. 1K views . 1 min read
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 2K views
Recently posted . 3K views
Get expert tips on how to get Rusty Rush look.
Recently posted. 1K views . 0 min read
In Hinduism, each day in a week is dedicated to a particular god in the Hindu pantheon. Thursday, which is Brihaspatiwar or Vrihaspativar, is dedicated to Vishnu an...
Recently posted. 3K views . 2 min read