Roger Federer says his decision to skip last month's Miami Masters was the right one. The world No. 2 returns to Monte Carlo this week, where Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are also in the draw. The 33-year-old says he overplayed last year and wants to make sure that he is well rested in 2015.
"For me it was important because of what happened last year, how many tournaments I played," Federer said. “I didn’t base this [Miami] decision on what I wanted to do this clay-court season. It was almost something I had to do, but also wanted to do after playing so much last year and going from one tournament to the next."
So far this season, Federer won Brisbane but was shocked by Andreas Seppi in the third round of the Australian Open. He then defeated Djokovic to win Dubai, and then reached the final at Indian Wells, where he lost to the Serbian.
Federer took a break during Miami and then began training again before Monte Carlo, saying he will do some more off-court work in between tournaments—potentially even skipping another Masters event.
"And after sporadic fitness and rest, I wanted to do it more in blocks," he said. "That's why I’m happy I got a vacation behind me. In terms of fitness, I really needed a block, and I’ll do that again after Monaco when I come to Switzerland, then I might do some more after Madrid. We’ll see about Rome. That’s the plan, and I think that will work well ahead at the French Open, Wimbledon and beyond."