Roger Federer sends fans into frenzy with French Open announcement
Roger Federer has delighted fans after announcing he will play the French Open in Paris next year.
"I will play the French Open. I probably won't play much before that because I need some time away from it (tennis) and I need some time with the family," the 38-year-old told CNN.
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The 20-time Grand Slam champion returned to Roland Garros this year after a three year absence, falling to Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals.
Federer confirmed he will compete at next year's Tokyo Olympics after Wimbledon and prior to the US Open.
But his priority before the French Open which he has won only once in 2009 will be a family vacation.
"We need a vacation, we need a break, and especially if I am playing the Olympics and all that," he said.
In Tokyo he will be in competition for a men's singles gold medal, the only major prize he has yet to win.
Earlier this week he said he had been debating with his team on his programme after Wimbledon and before the US Open.
"At the end of the day my heart decided to play the Olympic Games again," he said.
Fans delight over French Open announcement
Federer has won all four of the Grand Slam tournaments, as well as the ATP Tour Finals six times, but is still waiting to grab Olympic singles gold.
He did win a doubles gold alongside fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka at Beijing in 2008, but when he got to the London singles final in 2012 he was hammered 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 by an inspired Andy Murray.
Federer did not compete at Rio 2016, where Murray won again, but has since twice won the Australian Open and took the 2017 Wimbledon title before losing an epic final in the grass-court Grand Slam to Novak Djokovic earlier this year.
Serbia's Djokovic, and Federer's eternal rival Nadal, have both already said they will compete at Tokyo, the trio setting the scene for a highly competitive tournament.
Federer is third in the world rankings, while Nadal and Djokovic won all four Grand Slams between them this year.
— Rishi Dhingra (@love_all___) October 16, 2019
So now let’s get tickets for the French open 😜 #federerisbackagain
— Laurence Djento (@ldjento) October 16, 2019
Roger Federer to play French Open next year as well, confirmed.
little surprised at that, given his desire to strike gold for Switzerland in Tokyo. still, the more the merrier... https://t.co/FPbjKuzHnt— Will (@Will_Beckman) October 17, 2019
👏👏👏
— Serkan KUTSAL (@skutsal34) October 17, 2019
That’s what 🐐 🐐 do
— Digital Jerseys (@Fasn_Designs) October 17, 2019
The French Open and the Olympics? 🤩
2020 is going to be a good year for fans of @RogerFederer: https://t.co/EBOWeKlVsl pic.twitter.com/oF86Xm6Zr0— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) October 17, 2019
@rogerfederer will play French Open in 2020 😍😍
Just wow🇨🇭🕺🏻@rolandgarros #rogerfederer #Federer pic.twitter.com/unEGSn3lbx— Fedal Tennis (@TennisFedal) October 17, 2019
Federer playing at the French Open 2020? I think 2020 could be his final year. If he wants to stay fit and healthy, he shouldn’t commit himself to clay. Having said that, he played superb at Wimbledon 2019 because of the match fitness he obtained on clay, so it goes both ways.
— NSB (@NB98765) October 17, 2019