Reigning Australian Open champion Roger Federer will once again give the clay court season a miss, claims former British pro Barry Cowan.
The 36-year-old Swiss superstar recently usurped arch-rival Rafael Nadal from the top of the men’s rankings, becoming the oldest No. 1 player in the history of the sport.
Federer has been in imperious form, defending his Australian Open crown Down Under to take his Grand Slam tally to 20 and then capturing his third title in Rotterdam to stay undefeated in 2018.
The current World No. 1 has admitted time and again that playing a lighter schedule has kept him motivated, fresh and injury free, enabling him to secure a record-breaking eighth Wimbledon crown last year.
Federer had missed the entire clay court season in 2017 and Cowan believes the 20-time Major winner will repeat the same strategy again this year.
“What Federer has shown is that he knows when to pick and choose what tournaments he enters because he doesn’t want to overplay,” the Brit told Sky Sports.
“He will identify what are the most important tournaments and then say ‘what do I need to do before that to be ready?’.
“Indian Wells will be his number one priority more so than Miami, so he will try to do the best he can to play in the desert.
“He will play Indian Wells and then he will see how he feels after that and whether he commits to playing in Miami. I don’t think Miami is a certainty.
“I don’t think he will play on the clay. I would be shocked if he plays on the clay because why does it change from this year from last year?”
Federer opted to skip the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, turning down a wildcard to play in the tournament. The Basel native will attend the Laureus World Sports Awards in Monte Carlo on Tuesday before starting his preparations for the defense of his Indian Wells title in March.
