Roger Federer believes setting expectations low in each tournament he plays in has helped him play excellent tennis the past four months. Aside from benefiting from the six-month layoff, the Swiss Master thinks the knee injury has reset everything on the mental aspect.
Federer revealed that he felt rejuvenated, physically and mentally, the moment he returned to the court after a lengthy absence. Better conditioning was certainly a factor, but it was his cool and collected demeanor that willed him to three major victories at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami Masters.
"Because for the last 15 years I always said, more or less, 'I want to win the next tournament I enter,' because that was a reality. Because of this injury, it sort of reset everything, and it was a beautiful thing," said Federer, who confirmed last week that he would compete in the french open championships.
Ready for French Open
Federer, who captured his lone Roland Garros title in 2009, spent the last 3-4 weeks attending parties and playing exhibition matches instead of grinding it out on the red dirt. The Swiss stressed he needed to skip the majority of the clay-court tournaments in order for his 35-year old body to recover from the wear and tear of competition. Heck, he even considered skipping the French Open championship to keep him more prepared for Wimbledon, where he always has a better chance of winning it all.
At Roland Garros, expect Federer to set his goal low, and play big on the court.
The former world’s no.1 admitted he felt a bothersome sensation on his knee while playing on the red dirt of Roland Garros in 2015. Nevertheless, he’s expected to be one of the favorites alongside Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka for the second major crown of the year.
Edge over the King of Clay
Retired Australian netter Todd Woodbridge claims Federer has the edge over Rafael Nadal leading up to the French Open championship despite the fact the Spaniard has only run over the last two tournaments he participated: Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open.
Woodbridge is a bit concern about Nadal’s fitness heading into the big tournament as he’s scheduled to play four tournaments - Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, and Rome – before the French Open.
"He's already won two clay events, and is scheduled to play both Madrid and Rome in the coming weeks But to win a 10th Roland Garros he needs to go in as fresh as possible.
Once you're in your thirties, you have to respect your body – it doesn't recover as well as it does in your mid-twenties," Woodbridge said of the 30-year old Nadal.
Federer, on the other hand, just played four tournaments in 2017 and captured titles in three of them with a 19-1 slate. He will be a lot fresher than most of his rivals in Paris, but will it be enough to overcome Nadal?
