Paris (AFP)

Before Wimbledon and the Tokyo Games, his two summer goals, Roger Federer will participate in Roland-Garros, even delayed by a week (May 30-June 13).

His preparation on clay will be limited to the Geneva tournament, two weeks before the Parisian Grand Slam.

"Happy to announce that I will be playing in Geneva and Paris. Until then, I will be devoting my time to training. I can't wait to play in Switzerland again," he tweeted on Sunday afternoon.

Operated twice in quick succession on the right knee during the first half of 2020, the Swiss with twenty Grand Slam coronations - like Rafael Nadal -, who will celebrate his 40th birthday on August 8, has made his comeback to the competition at the beginning of March in Doha, after more than a year of absence.

He won his first match there, at the expense of Briton Daniel Evans, then lost the second, not without having obtained a match point, against Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, future winner of the Qatari tournament.

He hasn't played since.

He who very clearly made Wimbledon, his tournament of heart, and the Tokyo Games (July 23-August 8) - only Olympic singles gold escapes his prestigious record - his priorities had then suggested that he was considering playing on clay, but without specifying his schedule.

"The important thing is to play matches. And what happens before the grass season is the clay season. From that point of view, if I want to play matches, I don't have No choice but to play on gravel, he explained. Anything that will help me get 100% on grass, I will. "

- In Geneva before -

"I'm assuming I'm going to play on clay. The question is what?" He continued.

We now have the answer: we will not see Federer again until mid-May in Geneva, two weeks before the kick-off of Roland-Garros, delayed for a week by its organizers in the hope of taking advantage in the meantime. '' a relaxation of the health restrictions linked to Covid-19, and thus be able to welcome more people there.

"This choice of Roger Federer fills us with happiness", reacted in a statement the director of the Geneva tournament Thierry Grin.

We now know that the Balois will not go through the Masters 1000 in Madrid at the beginning of May, where he was registered.

So much so that he will have had two full months between Doha and Geneva to perfect his physical condition, and find rhythm and sensations.

"I am not yet 100%, I feel it, I see it, but the important thing is to be 100% for the grass season. I am still in reconstruction," he recalled afterwards. Doha.

What to expect from Federer at Roland Garros?

The Swiss champion, who has triumphed only once on Parisian clay, in 2009, has only played in one of the last five editions.

Twice (2017 and 2018), he preferred to avoid the ocher season to focus on his preparation for Wimbledon.

However for his most recent participation, in 2019, he climbed to the last four, before being stopped by the master of the places Rafael Nadal.

© 2021 AFP