"Playing on clay will benefit grass season" - says Federer ahead of Geneva Open opener

Roger Federer will play his first match on clay at the Geneva Open and he is convinced the experience will benefit him for the grass season.

It will only be the 2nd event Federer has played in 2021 after Doha and the first one he played on clay in a very long time. The event will be his only preparatory one ahead of the Roland Garros but Federer is more so looking at the positives of the experience going forward. Speaking to the local media he said:

"I was happy that the knee didn’t feel any different from hard to clay, so I expect the same to go from clay to grass. Since ’98, since we have the grass in my schedule, I’ve never really had any major issues going between surfaces."

For Federer, the transition from surface to surface will be key as he is working his way from a very long absence and double knee surgery. On the transitions he said:

“I think that the tennis player is used to these switches but of course with an injury there is always a little bit more concern, especially when you haven’t played as long as I have."

Federer does not have any expectation of the clay season but he thinks that playing on clay will help him in the long run, especially the grass season. Explaining that he said:

“I’m convinced that hitting a lot of balls – you have to really power through the ball like you have to on clay because otherwise, you’re not going to have an impact on this surface – is going to be beneficial for me for the grass-court season.”

For Federer, Wimbledon is the main target as well as the Olympics so it will be interesting to see how he does on the red dirt. Fans around the world have long awaited the return of Federer who recently shut down rumours of retirement.