Roger Federer, according to a news release from the website for the Rogers Cup, has indicated that he will in fact play in Montreal next week. There isn't really any kind of injury buzz surrounding Federer of late. However, he did skip the entire clay-court season earlier this year. For that reason, his participation in any event, except for the non-clay Grand Slams, is questionable until a formal statement on the matter is released. Tennis fans now have that.
Federer "happy" to be heading to Montreal
“I’m happy to be coming back to Montreal, as I have not had the chance to play there for many years,” said Federer (qtd.
on August 1st at the Rogers Cup homepage). “This 2017 season has been very exciting and I am really looking forward to being back on the court on the ATP Tour.”
Federer, who missed the Montreal-based event in 2013 and 2015, won Wimbledon in July and he did well on the hard courts earlier this year. Before skipping the clay-court season, Federer also won both Indian Wells and Miami after winning the 2017 Australian Open by beating Rafael Nadal in the late rounds. It's those results that have gone a long way to making him a candidate for the World No. 1 ranking in the weeks ahead.
The Canadian Masters switched between Montreal and Toronto, with the former city the host this season. Federer last played in Montreal at the 2011 Rogers Cup, a tournament where he fell to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the early rounds.
While Federer can hope to attain the No. 1 ranking in the weeks ahead, he'll need more than just a good result from Montreal. Next week, it's Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray that will battle for the top spot. But Federer could claim the top ranking with the results from Cincinnati's Western & Southern Open later this summer.
Canadian Masters not Federer's best event
Despite his hard-court prowess, Federer has not won the Canadian Masters in over a decade. Furthermore, the Swiss Maestro has never won the tournament when it has been played in Montreal. For the most part, it has been Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray that have dominated the event over the last several years.
Federer, historically speaking, has done much better at the Cincinnati Masters. That tournament will immediately follow the Rogers Cup and that makes the next two weeks very condensed for the top-ranked ATP players. The US Open starts on August 28th, a tournament that Federer has not won since the 2008 season. The Swiss Maestro will be looking to end those droughts as part of his resurgent 2017 season.
