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Federer to skip Monte Carlo clay event in 09


 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 15:04

World No.2 Roger Federer has announced he will be absent from the 2009 Monte Carlo clay court event after deciding to take a new approach to his French Open preparations next season.

The Swiss 13-time grand slam champion will play just two clay court events in 2009, two less than in 2008.

Federer is hoping the change in approach will deliver him his first ever French Open title in June the only grand slam he is yet to win.

“I am really pleased with the season the way we have planned it and I am looking forward to an exciting year,” Federer said on his official website.

The 27-year-old will be at the ATP 1000 events in Madrid and Rome before moving on to the French Open where he has been a runner-up three times.

That means Federer will be missing from Aprils Monte Carlo ATP 1000 event where he has reached the final for the last three years.

The Swiss star begins his year at an exhibition in Abu Dhabi, the Capitala World Tennis Championship, followed by the Doha ATP event and the AAMI Classic in Melbourne before the first major of the year, the Australian Open.

Federer’s agent, Tony Godsick, told The Associated Press in October that his player would be selecting a schedule in 2009 that suited him better physically.

“[Roger] is not going to overplay next year,” Godsick said. “He is just going to try to make sure that he peaks for the tournaments that mean the most to him.”

As well as revealing his whereabouts for the next 12 months Federer brought his fans up to date with his off-season antics.

I am still enjoying a few more days on holiday, he revealed. It is such a treat to just enjoy the sun and the sea together with Mirka.

After that we’ll start the preparations for 2009 with a training camp in Dubai. That is always very intense, but it’s a vital part to a successful start of the new year – which begins very soon.

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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.