Roger Federer, arguably regarded as the most iconic character in tennis history, will not make that much noise during the clay court swing and there is a fair chance of not having him in the main draw at the 2017 french open.
Having no goals whatsoever for the clay session, the Swiss champion took some time off after a tremendous first part of 2017. The French Open is now even closer, but the news regarding Roger Federer's involvement into are not compelling.
With no preparation or any sort of a warm-up tournament, it would be hard for Roger to aim big at Roland Garros, a place that has been dominated by Rafael Nadal over the past decade or so.
The French Open provides little incentives
The winner of 2017 Australian Open and of the Sunshine Double, Roger Federer puts his hopes on the second leg of the regular season when the action will shift to the grass court and then to the faster North American hardcourts. Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam of the season will start on May 22nd with the qualifying stages while the main draw's action will start a week later on May 29th.
Having less than three weeks left, Federer is yet to make any solid statement regarding the matter having the latest post on the social media indicating a lower interest when it comes to clay as he was caught on camera training on a hardcourt in Dubai. On the other side, if he'll decide to pick a slot in the main draw of this tournament, he might put himself in danger as clay has the habit of taking a lot of resources out of those seeking glory and fame competing in the dusty courts.
Having no warm-up event under his belt, it might be a better choice to skip entirely the clay court swing. It would be the second season in a row with no Federer in the main draw. As Federer previously said, it's not about the numbers and odds, it's rather a matter of trust and belief that he can produce something special in Paris.
Roger Federer has lost the no. 1 spot to Nadal
The ranking structure of 2017 ( ATP Race) has Roger Federer in the second slot while Rafael Nadal is in front. The Spaniard surpassed Federer as he got past David Goffin in Madrid. Even so, the Swiss tennis star has a decent shot to increase his winning streak during the grass court session.
He is set to make an appearance at some warm-up events prior to Wimbledon as he did back 2016. The Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart and Gerry Weber Open in Halle are the venues where Federer will set his goals for Wimbledon.
