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The Swiss, who defied logic to win the Australian Open in
January after being out of tennis for six months, will skip the
May 28-June 11 claycourt major for the second year running after
missing last year's edition through injury.
"I've been working really hard, both on and off the court,
during the last month but in order to try and play on the ATP
World Tour for many years to come, I feel it's best to skip the
claycourt season this year and prepare for the grass and
hardcourt seasons," world number five Federer, who won his sole
Roland Garros title in 2009, said on his Facebook page.
"The start to the year has been magical for me but I need to
recognize that scheduling will be the key to my longevity moving
forward.
"Thus, my team and I concluded today that playing just one event
on clay was not in the best interest of my tennis and physical
preparation for the remainder of the season."
Federer, 35, has already won the three biggest titles of the
year to date as he followed his triumph in Australia with wins
at Indian Wells and the Miami Open.
After that stunning run, Federer, who missed the second half of
last year recovering from knee surgery, said that he would
likely skip the European claycourt season except for the French
Open.
The former world number one's announcement came a day after
Rafael Nadal won his third consecutive claycourt title of the
season ahead of the French Open, where the Spaniard will be
bidding for his 10th Roland Garros title.
Federer will now focus on being in top form for Wimbledon, which
begins on July 3 and where he is a seven-times champion.
(Reporting by Pritha Sarkar and Frank Pingue; Editing by Clare
Fallon)
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