Roger Federer is currently enjoying a break from professional Tennis after deciding to skip the clay court season for the second year in a row. It includes skipping the Roland Garros, something he justified by saying that he’s not 25 anymore and prefers grass over clay. While his arch rival, Rafael Nadal continues his dominance over the clay court, Federer has finally announced his return to professional tennis starting from June.

He will be returning to professional Tennis from June 11, 2018 with the Stuttgart Open in Germany. That’s when the grass court tournament begins.

“Excited to announce that I will be coming back to Germany for the Mercedes Cup in June,” Roger Federer wrote on Facebook.

“Looking forward to seeing you at the grass courts in Stuttgart.”

While criticisms are flying from everywhere for Federer, Borris Becker recently went out to take a stand for the Swiss legend. Replying to Ion Tiriac’s criticism that Federer doesn’t respect the clay court enough, Becker replied, “In principle, Tiriac is right when he says that players are not allowed to chose where to play and where to not.

“But Federer is in another league. He is the best ever. He is an unbelievable tennis player.

“He did all right, and now that he has chosen to skip the clay-court season should be understood.”

The Stuttgart Open up until 2014 was played on the clay court, before switching to grass in 2015. Federer, having won the Australian Open as his 20th Grand Slam, went on to win the Rotterdam Open as well, before crashing out in the Miami Open. The Stuttgart Open will be his first tournament since.

This will leave Roger Federer with two weeks of preparation time for Wimbledon, where he is the reigning champion and thus defending 2000 points. Aiming for his 21st slam, Federer will look to capitalize on his break period and Nadal’s busy schedule this clay court tournament.