By Ricky Dimon
Missing the clay-court swing is nothing new for Roger Federer. In 2020, however, he will also miss Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami. That’s right; we will not see Federer on the match court again until the grass-court swing.
The 38-year-old Swiss announced on Thursday that he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery earlier this week. In 2016, Federer played in just seven tournaments after having an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee. This one was on the right.
“My right knee has been bothering me for a little while,” the 20-time Grand Slam champion posted on social media. “I hoped it would go away, but after an examination, and discussion with my team, I decided to have arthroscopic surgery in Switzerland yesterday [Wednesday].
“After the procedure, the doctors confirmed that it was the right thing to have done and are very confident of a full recovery. As a result, I will unfortunately have to miss Dubai, Indian Wells, Bogota, Miami and the French Open.
“I am grateful for everyone’s support. I can’t wait to be back playing soon, see you on the grass!”
Federer skipped the clay-court swing entirely in 2017 and 2018, while also missing the French Open in 2016. The red stuff has not been a priority for the 2009 Roland Garros champion of late, so there would be no reason to expect him to play on it if he isn’t completely 100 percent or well-prepared. The decision is likely a precautionary one, and Federer should be more than ready to go for the Noventi Open in Halle (formerly the Gerry Weber Open) and Wimbledon–both, of course, on his grass-court stomping grounds.
With Rafael Nadal favored to win a 13th French Open, Federer and Nadal could be tied at the top with 20 slam titles apiece going into Wimbledon.
Ricky contributes to10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.
Editors Note • We knew something was “tweaked” or hurting RF. He was letting Severin carry his Wilson racket bag for him. We also saw RF leave the court for treatment. (which is rare) He has now played almost 1,500 ATP matches without once quitting a match once play has started. No Retirements for RF ever. The amazing Greg Sharko at the ATP World Tour knows the exact number.
🎾🎾🎾