Roger Federer has made it official as the 36-year-old unveiled his upcoming schedule. 2018 started great for the Swiss player as he marched on defending his title at the Australian Open. Just weeks later, he accepted a wild-card into Rotterdam event where he emerged victoriously. Moreover, he has earned another stint as the world No. 1.
The Sunshine Double saw Federer making the final for a second consecutive year at Indian Wells where an inspired del Potro outlasted him. Miami came with a shock as Federer lost his opening match. With no clay court action for the foreseeable future, many have wondered what his upcoming schedule will look like.
And we have the answer as Federer decided to pursue a full schedule for the grass season.
2017 recipe all over again
Roger Federer will most likely try to apply what worked best in the past. As he did in 2017, the Clay Court is off the table which means the mid-season schedule revolves solely around the grass court season.
Widely regarded as the best grass court player in history, Federer will make three distinct stops on this surface. Firstly, he will try to grease his game at Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. Last year he suffered a shocking defeat there as Tommy Haas saved match points before stunning Federer in three sets. But that was Federer's single mistake as he went on to dominate at Halle and then Wimbledon winning both titles without dropping a single set.
Ranked second in the world at the moment, Federer has nothing to defend during the clay season. That will change once the action shifts from that red dirt to that fresh green grass.
While Rafael Nadal is dominating the clay court season again, many are wondering if Roger Federer can deliver a similar attitude when the grass season comes around.
Roger Federer's schedule for the second part of the season
Once the grass court season reaches a conclusion, Roger Federer will change his focus toward the second chunk of the North American outdoor hard season. This time, he is expected to attend the event in Cincinnati, a place where he triumphed seven times in the past. Then, the 2018 US Open is the next stop on the map.
It's been almost a decade since Roger Federer won at Flushing Meadows and this year could be his last chance to change that.
The last segment of the season should find Federer dosing his resources as he might play at Shanghai and Basel where he has titles to defend from last year. The Nitto ATP Finals in London is the last stop of the season and Federer is still in the process of securing a slot for himself.
