Roger Federer smart to skip Miami Open

After his run to the final of the Indian Wells Masters event last week, Roger Federer has chosen to skip the Miami Masters event in order to focus his preparations on the clay court season. It is a smart move from the Swiss number one, as at 33 year old it is necessary to start tapering down how much he is playing.

It is interesting that Federer has chosen to elongate his clay court season

We recently announced that Federer had added to his clay court season by registering for the TEP BNP Paribas Istanbul Open. Whilst it is only an ATP 250 event, it is the first time the tour has visited Turkey and Federer is clearly committed to showing his face.

When he announced his schedule for the spring and summer, Miami was a notable omission and there were a number of theories emerging as to why the world number two would miss such a prestigious event. Ultimately it looks to career management that has caused Federer to cut down his schedule.

He is also not defending a huge amount of points from Miami last year, where is quarter final showing earned him 180 points which is only a drop in the ocean of his 9,205 points tally over the last calendar year. More of a concern will be Federer’s race standing, which is down at 5th in the world, which he will be keen to improve on the clay.

Managing His Career Perfectly

Federer has set the standards for how to manage a tennis career at the highest level and even in his advancing years he continues to be smart and know his own limits. Although the Masters series events are mandatory for those ranked high enough the qualify, older players on tour can be exempt from these rules.

Talk coming out of the Federer camp is that whilst the next three weeks will provide a needed break for the Swiss maestro, he is ready to put in the hours on the practice court and in the gym to maintain his match sharpness and prepare as best as possible for the clay.

More from Lob and Smash

Home/ATP