Roger Federer has pulled off Roland Garros 2017 and is focusing all his attention on winning the Wimbledon title for a record 8th time. He said recently in an interview that the team has decided to skip the French Open for the good, as he is trying to stay healthy in order to play for a few more years. But, what does skipping the whole clay court season means for his chances of winning Wimbledon?
Federer surprised everyone, including himself, at the start of the 2017 season. While everyone was expecting another tennis season dominated by Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, the resurgent 35-year-old alongside his long-time rival and friend, Rafael Nadal, stole the thunder and drew all the attention to themselves by delighting fans around the world with a new chapter of their out-of-this-world rivalry in the Australian Open final.
Federer continued his stunning form on the American hard courts and managed to win the Sunshine Double, defeating Nadal two more times in the process. However, skipping the clay season and recently, putting off the French Open, not only makes this almost impossible, it could hurt his chances of winning Wimbledon as well.
Federer is losing ranking points
One of his major problems en route to winning the Wimbledon 2017, will be the ranking points. A pessimistic quarterfinal showing at Roland Garros would guarantee him regaining his number four position from countryman Stanislas Wawrinka and remove the probability of an early blockbuster with other members of the tennis big four at SW19. As Rafa has swept almost everything during the clay court season, Novak has found new energy by reaching Rome Masters 1000 final and also reaching an agreement with all-time great Andre Agassi as his coach.
Andy Murray, on the other hand, has been struggling with form, but we all know he is capable of lifting the trophy at the All England Club. Thus, it would be best for Roger to avoid these guys as much as possible.
Federer's absence helps his rivals to gather momentum and confidence
Moreover, any tennis player and sportsman, in general, knows the importance of having momentum and confidence.
Skipping a Grand Slam, while others are sweating it out and trying to peak at the most important part of the season might not be the best idea; however, some would argue that Federer came back from an even longer layoff to win the Australian Open.
Another concern for Roger will be his nemesis, Nadal. Rafa's confidence will be over the top if he wins the French Open and he will be really dangerous for Federer if he can cruise safely through the first few rounds at Wimbledon.
For the first time in the story of their rivalry, Roger has found the mental edge over Rafa by winning the last four matchups. If he could possibly beat him on any clay court this year, or at least push him far enough, he would be way on top, come July.
Although, all these things could hurt Federer's chances of lifting the trophy up on the center court of the All England Club, we can never bet against this man's will and desire. One thing is for sure, we will be treated to two weeks of spectacular tennis at Wimbledon.
