Roger Federer Confirms Return, Earlier Than Expected

Roger Federer will be playing three grass court tournaments in 2018 after skipping the entire clay court season again this year after he confirmed his participation at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart.

The tournament in Germany begins June 11, which will mark Federer's return to court for the first time since his second round loss at the Miami Open in March. It is earlier than expected for Federer, after it was initially believed he will make his return at the Halle Open, which takes place a week after the tournament in Stuttgart. The Swiss tennis legend played in Stuttgart in 2017, but notably lost in the second round to Tommy Haas.

The 36-year-old is generally known to use the grass court events to prepare for Wimbledon, which has always been his main target when the season gets underway. He also decided to skip the entire clay court season in 2018 in order to remain in peak physical condition when the third Grand Slam of the year arrives in July.

Federer is been on an upward spiral since his return from a long-term injury absence at the start of the 2017 season, when he picked up seven titles. He started 2018 in similar form by defending his crown at the Australian Open, but was unable to complete the "sunshine double" losing in the finals at Indian Wells and the second round in Miami.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion is keen to add a ninth Wimbledon title to his kitty and is focused on being at his best for the showpiece event at SW19. He confirmed earlier he will play at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, but his participation in Stuttgart came as a surprise as he generally plays just one tournament before Wimbledon.

“Excited to announce that I will be coming back to Germany for the Mercedes Cup in June. Looking forward to seeing you at the grass courts in Stuttgart!” Federer wrote on his official Facebook page Wednesday.

Federer became the oldest world number one in ATP history earlier this year, when he won the Rotterdam Open, but surrendered his spot to long-time rival and the previous owner of the number one ranking Rafael Nadal following his losses at Indian Wells and Miami.

The Spaniard is currently sweeping through the clay court tournaments having defended his titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. He needs to defend his title at the Madrid Masters and match his quarter-finals berth at the Italian Open to maintain his position as the world number one going into the French Open.

Even if Nadal wins the title in Rome, he will have to defend his title at Roland Garros to remain the world number one before the grass court campaign starts in June. If he does not manage to add a historic 11th title in Paris, he will usurped at the top by Federer, who is just 100-points behind at the moment.