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Roger Federer may skip out on ATP World Tour finals (pictures and video)
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According to a report which came out on Yahoo! on Thursday, world #1 Roger Federer, who has not played since leading Switzerland past Italy in the World Group playoffs of the Davis Cup this past month, may decide to skip out on the year end World Tour Finals scheduled for the week of November 22nd in London.
- View Photo Highlights of Roger Federer in 2009
- Watch video of Roger Federer hitting his "greatest shot" at bottom of screen
While at this stage it can not be said with any certainty that these reports are anything more than rumor, the move on Federer's part would be highly controversial if it holds true as he has not given any indication that he is physically unable to compete and would have to do so in order to avoid receiving sanctions from the ATP. After competing in the Davis Cup playoff against Italy he said at the time "I'm in need of a holiday, badly", and has not been seen on tour since. The general perception is that his number one priority is to focus on the 2010 Australian Open and make sure that he is 100% prepared for the year's first Grand Slam, scheduled to begin the third week of January.
Federer raised some eyebrows this past week when he took a pass on the Shanghai Masters 1000 event - which requires eligible players not sidelined by injury to compete, by giving no indication that he is injured, and it appears that he may do the same again at the Paris Masters slated for the week of November 8th. No reports of Federer receiving any type of fine or sanctions for skipping on Shanghai have been issued to date, however it is standard practice for the ATP to issue fines to healthy, eligible players for not competing at Masters series events.
Every fall following the US Open there is an outcry from both the men and women alike that the tour calendar is too long and simply unsustainable as injuries seem to mount up every year at this time. Rafael Nadal calls the current schedule "impossible", and Andy Roddick offered a similar sentiment only one day before spraining his knee in a second round match in the Shanghai Masters against Stanislas Wawrinka, which forced him to withdraw from the event and threw his status for the World Tour finals into doubt. All told, there were 9 withdrawals from the tournament, which is almost unheard of for a one week tournament.
Perhaps Federer is playing by his own rules by skipping out on Masters series events such as Shanghai and potentially Paris, but with his #1 ranking apparently safe for the remainder of the year, two new baby daughters at home, and finances obviously not a concern (he is already the highest earning male tennis player in history in terms of on court earnings) it seems hard to fault his logic by taking some time off and accepting whatever punishment the ATP decides to dole out. If he shows up in Australia ready to go and claims his 16th career Grand Slam, his sitting out the fall season will seem like a wise idea.
Video Highlight of what Roger Federer describes as his "greatest shot ever"
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