Roger Federer has at least 10 days before he faces his next major fitness test, with the Swiss advising that his back pain recovery is going well as he sits out the French Open. The world number three advised his current health status on social media with his debut at the Stuttgart grass court pre-Wimbledon event approaching during the week of June 6.
The 34-year-old was forced to withdraw from Roland Garos before the start with his back problem which had wrecked his abbreviated clay season. “Back is better than expected. I keep progressing,” Federer told Swiss television as he presented his football club FC Basel their trophy after winning the Swiss league.
The current edition of the French Open is subtly feeling the effects of the Federer absence - the first time he has missed any grand slam since the late 1990s. The atmosphere remains just slightly subdued without the 17-time grand slam winner and 2009 champion in the mix. Fellow Swiss and current holder Stan Wawrinka called the ambience “strange” while hoping that Federer would be right for the grass season start. “For sure it feels strange for every player here and every fan of tennis for Roger to pull out before the tournament,” Wawrinka said.
“I had a little bit of a talk with him. He was happy after my first match. He saw the end, apparently. Hopefully he’s gonna be fit and ready for the grass court and maybe do something big there.”
Tomic returns serve in all-Australian feud with Rasheed
Bernard Tomic has lashed back at a former Australian ATP coach, slamming Roger Rasheed’s undisguised criticism after a losing performance at the French Open. Tomic exited in the second round to Croatian Borna Coric in four sets, while complaining of feeling dizzy and ill.
Rasheed, former coach to Lleyton Hewitt plus unfulfilled talents Gael Monfils and Grigor Dimitrov, is prone to sending out philosophical motivational-style tweets, a reflection of his one-time coaching stance.
The Adelaide-based Rasheed said Tomic was not showing any passion on court, even with his first-round Paris win. Tomic was quick to return serve, telling Australian media that the criticism showed “why I never got along with Roger.”
“I was fighting. I wanted more than anything to win - it is one of the toughest grand slams to play in, condition-wise,” he said of the Coric match.”If you don’t have the passion to be out on these courts here there’s no bother playing it. I was fighting as much as I can and I know I’m not that good on clay.
I didn’t grow up on this surface. I don’t even know how to walk and slide, it’s very confusing for me. I tried my best.”
There is a history of bad blood between the Tomic clan and Rasheed, with Tomic’s father John once characterising the former Australian Rules football trainer as the man who “took Lleyton Hewitt from second in the world to 60th” during the later stages of Hewitt’s career.
Roger Federer
