Roger Federer confirms participation at Geneva Open and Roland Garros, will skip Madrid Open

Roger Federer has announced his schedule for the clay season this year, revealing that he will play only two events - the ATP 250 event in Geneva, followed by Roland Garros. Federer was originally on the entry list of the Madrid Open, but has now decided to skip the Masters 1000 event in the Spanish capital.

"Hi everyone!" Roger Federer wrote on his Twitter handle. "Happy to let you know that I will play Geneva and Paris. Until then I will use the time to train. Can't wait to play in Switzerland again."

Hi everyone!Happy to let you know that I will play Geneva🇨🇭 and Paris 🇫🇷. Until then I will use the time to train. Can’t wait to play in Switzerland again. ❤️🚀

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) April 18, 2021

Roger Federer will also not participate in the Rome Masters, which immediately follows the Madrid Open. The Swiss will, instead, prepare for the French Open in the comfort of his home country.

The Geneva Open usually takes place immediately before Roland Garros. But the postponement of the French Open this year means there is now a one-week gap between Geneva and Paris. The former is scheduled to take place from 16 to 22 May, while Roland Garros begins on 30 May. That would give Roger Federer - and the rest of the Geneva participants - enough time to rest before the claycourt Slam.

Federer returned to competitive tennis after 13 months in Doha last month, but failed to make much of a splash at the ATP 250 event. After beating Dan Evans in the second round, he bowed out to eventual champion Nikoloz Basilashvili in the quarterfinals.

Roger Federer has claimed on more than one occasion that his main goals for the 2021 season are to be fully fit and prepared for Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics. He is looking at the clay season as a platform to get some match practice in, but both his fans and the tournament organizers would be thrilled to know he is participating at Roland Garros.

Roger Federer will be looking to replicate his impressive semifinal showing from Roland Garros 2019

Roger Federer (L) and Rafael Nadal

Roger Federer has played Roland Garros only once in the last five years. The Swiss maestro withdrew from both the 2016 and 2020 editions of the tournament due to injury, and chose not to play in 2017 and 2018 so that he could be fully fit and ready for Wimbledon.

However, Federer fared very well at the 2019 edition of Roland Garros. The 39-year-old defeated Lorenzo Sonego, Oscar Otte, Casper Ruud and Leonardo Mayer in the first four rounds, all in straight sets. He then met compatriot Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinals, defeating him in four sets.

Federer was eliminated by eventual champion and familiar foe Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. The final score read 6-3 6-4 6-2 in Nadal's favor, and marked the Spaniard's sixth win over Federer at Roland Garros.

But with his run to the semis, Federer proved that he hasn't lost any of his claycourt skills. He will now be looking to replicate his result from two years ago, especially since he is defending at least 50% of his points from the 2019 tournament.

An early defeat at Roland Garros for Roger Federer could have serious implications on his ranking. The Swiss currently sits at No. 8 due to the ranking freeze, but if the likes of Diego Schwartzman, Matteo Berrettini or Roberto Bautista Agut put up good results, Federer could fall out of the top 10 by the end of June.