Roger Federer has revealed that he does not expect to compete in any clay-court tournaments until the French Open, which starts on May 28.
The 35-year-old continued his excellent start to 2017 at the weekend as he landed the Miami Open title with a 6-3 6-4 victory over great rival Rafael Nadal.
The Miami Open proved to be the third tournament that the Swiss has won since January, although the former world number one has revealed that he is now planning a break of almost two months before the 2017 French Open.
"When I am healthy and feeling good, I can produce tennis like this," Federer told ESPN. "When I am not feeling this good there is no chance I will be in the finals competing with Rafa.
"That is why this break is coming in the clay-court season, focusing everything on the French, the grass and then the hard courts after that. I'm not 24 anymore so things have changed in a big way and I probably won't play any clay-court event except the French."
Federer is expected to miss events such as the Monte Carlo Masters, the Madrid Open, the Rome Masters and the Istanbul Open as he prepares to launch a challenge at Roland Garros at the end of next month.
Matt Law
