Tennis news - 'Roger even gets surgery schedule correct' - What next for Federer?

American player Mardy Fish took to Twitter to praise Federer for the timing of his knee surgery with many agreeing that he has managed his schedule perfectly with the tennis tours in turmoil amid coronavirus fears.

"Roger even gets his surgery schedule correct. #Fedoracle," Fish wrote.

The tweet came after Indian Wells had to be cancelled due to concerns over the spread of coronavirus with many players upset about a perceived overreaction.

Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam of the season, is now reportedly not certain to go ahead with many clay-court tournaments across Europe in doubt.

Federer said he would miss a number of tournaments, including the French Open in May, after undergoing keyhole surgery in Switzerland.

Federer suffered a groin problem in his Australian Open quarter-final win against Tennys Sandgren and his movement appeared hampered in his defeat to eventual champion Djokovic in the semi-finals.

"My right knee has been bothering me for a little while." Federer wrote on social media.

"I hoped it would go away but after an examination, and discussion with my team, I decided to have arthroscopic surgery in Switzerland yesterday.

"After the procedure, the doctors confirmed that it was the right thing to have done and are very confident of a full recovery.

"I am grateful for everyone's support. I can't wait to be back playing again soon, see you on the grass!"

Fish was obviously jokingly implying that Federer foresaw the extent of the coronavirus crisis and the way it would affect the tennis calendar, but it was more a case of him simply needing surgery before he could get back to his best and knowing that the clay-court season did not represent his best chance of Grand Slam success.

The 38-year-old has been rightly praised for his intelligent and wise schedule in recent years to ensure his successful longevity at the top of the men's game, and this is further evidence of that. Federer knows that Wimbledon and the US Open are his best opportunities to win a 21st Grand Slam and he is clearly just focusing everything on those two events, plus the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

With the benefit of hindsight, his decision to undergo keyhole surgery after the Australian Open has proved even more sage given the extent of the chaos caused by the coronavirus in the tennis calendar, but equally his rivals will now not be taxing themselves nearly as much as expected on the clay courts prior to Wimbledon.