What does Roger Federer’s decision to play clay mean for this year on Tour?

Roger Federer will not be defending his title at the Australian Open, having gone out in the fourth round with a defeat at the hands of young sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas, but he also made a major announcement in a French interview.

The 2009 French Open champion will participate in the clay season, a rumoured decision since last fall that he confirmed after his loss to the Greek player. Im at a moment where I think it would be nice to do it, Federer said, speaking in French at his press conference.

I can say I have missed it, I did the right thing skipping it last year, the year before as well, and the year before that I was injured. So I felt I wanted to do it again. Federer memorably won one of his 20 grand slam titles at Roland Garros in 2009, against Robin Soderling, 6-1, 7-6(1), 6-4, after making it to three finals.

Federer made the Roland Garros final once more after he achieved his single trophy, in 2011, losing each of the four times to the king of clay Rafael Nadal of course. The 37 year-old hasnt played the French since going out in the 2015 quarterfinals.

Fed skipped the tournament in 2016 due to his knee injury and decided to forego the event in the years 2017 and 2018, when he achieved three more slams on hard court and grass. At the time, the oldest No. 1 player wanted to focus on his health and rest up his body to recuperate for another record Wimbledon run.

So what does it mean if the legendary player is deciding to head to Paris for the 18th time at the spring grand slam? Many took to twitter after the announcement to speculate if this is Feds final year on Tour, with the legend wanting to play as much as he could before he retires his Wilson racquet.

Perhaps, but perhaps not. Federer has always said that he would like to make it to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The current world No. 3 (who is likely to drop to No. 6 or 7 after AO) still remains in top form and is always counted on as a title contender for any tournament he enters.

Federer didnt drop a set going into the Tsitsipas match and is no longer taking an extended break in between the hard court season and grass. I feel that it is not really necessary, Federer added.

So thats how this was decided. The sport icon has so many fans all over Europe, where most of the clay tournaments take place, and those fans will be very excited to have the Swiss legend back on the orange dirt.

There are also key Masters 1000 titles on the line for the former longest reigning world No. 1, including two titles he has never collected at Monte Carlo and Rome. Federer has made the finals at both of those events. Currently, Novak Djokovic is the only male player to win all nine Masters crowns.

The Swiss legend is still hungry for his 100th ATP title, which would put him as only the second man to hold ATP tourney wins in triple digits. Only Jimmy Connors has achieved this metric and holds the record at 109. Among Federers 99 ATP titles are 11 clay ones, and hes still considered one of the best players on the surface, even if it is his least successful, and far lower than Rafas absolute dominance on the dirt.

However, the 37 year-olds record is closer to Djokovics 13. Regardless of when the Swiss Maestro announces his retirement (which we do not predict will be this year), having Roger Federer back on the clay courts of Europe will be a welcome sight for fans and many of the clay tournament officials.