Roger Federer will be absent from the French Open for the third year in a row. While the Swiss legend's fans and admirers have expressed their disappointment at not being able to see him in action this year at Roland Garros, tournament director Guy Forget has said that Federer's absence won't impact this year's French Open.
“On a media level, obviously, a Nadal-Federer final would still create a buzz in Paris. But grounds are packed. The product works without Federer.
“On an audience level, his absence hasn't changed anything,” director Forget said. He said that Federer's nonattendance is notable, but not a big problem.
In March, Federer announced that he won't be playing in this year's French Open as he needs to prepare for the grass and hard court seasons.
“In order to try and play on the ATP World Tour for many years to come, I feel it's best to skip the clay court season this year,” reads Federer's statement on his official website. He added that he will miss his French fans and looked forward to seeing them next year.
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Federer had missed the entire clay court season the past two years as well. In 2016, Federer chose not to play the French Open so as to not aggravate his injuries after undergoing a knee surgery. However, he skipped the tournament last year in a deliberate attempt to prepare himself for Wimbledon. This was hailed as a “masterstroke” as Federer won his eighth Wimbledon without dropping a set. The 36-year-old looked unstoppable and nowhere near calling it quits.
Clay is Federer's weakest surface. He has won the French Open only once in his career. The challenge of playing in the French Open for Federer would be to beat one opponent: Rafael Nadal, king of the clay court, who is on his way to win a record 11th title at Roland Garros.
World number one Nadal has been handed an easy draw in this year's French Open. He will face Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov in the first round before a possible quarterfinal against South Africa's Kevin Anderson and a last-four meeting against Marin Cilic or Juan Martin Del Potro.