At the start of the year if you were to ask what he was expecting out of this year’s tour, Roger Federer would have been in doubt of winning a single title. But such has been his surprise, at surpassing his own expectations, that now he has high hopes of winning another slam this year. And after notching a couple of titles already, including the Australian open, he realizes he has a good chance of adding to the tally of 18 grand slams . He said, “at Wimbledon and the US Open I always have chances as long as I’m playing and am healthy. The courts suit me. The goal will be Wimbledon. I know this is where I have my best chance and I hope to be at 100 per cent”

Roger Federer to skip a significant part of clay court season

Roger Federer has long been known to struggle in the dirt, given his high standards on the grass and the hard courts. Although he is unlikely to skip the French open, he knows that even if he plays four to five tournaments on clay before the French, it would still be a long shot for him. He decided to cut down on the number of tournaments he would play on the dirt, after winning his 18th major this year, so that he could physically and mentally be focused  and prepared for the grass courts, although its not clear how many tournaments he is going to play on clay.

But Federer has been playing so well this season that it doesn’t seem fair that he should look at the clay court season in such a dull perspective. And probably that has been playing on Federer’s mind, and maybe that is why he has reserved his decisions of skipping clay court tournaments for after the Miami Open. If he manages to perform well in Miami, maybe even win another title there, his plans might change and he might give preparing for French open another thought. But it is true, that Wimbledon has always been Federer’s hunting ground, and the flushing meadows his favourite slam, and that it would only be fair if he skips a part of the clay court season to be fully fit for the grass court season. He is currently playing for a berth in the semi finals of the Miami open, having defeated Roberto Batista Agut in straight sets to reach the quarters.