ROGER FEDERER TENNIS MAESTRO PLAYING IN THE MADRID MASTERS, ROG IS IN SAME QUARTER OF THE DRAW WITH RAFA NADAL BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 30th April 2016

ROGER FEDERER TENNIS MAESTRO PLAYING IN THE MADRID MASTERS, ROG IS IN SAME QUARTER OF THE DRAW WITH RAFA NADAL BY RICKY DIMON

epa05283976 Swiss tennis player Roger Federer hits the ball during a training session for the Mutua Madrid Open at Caja Magica court in Madrid, Spain, 30 April 2016. The Mutua Madrid Open runs from 29 April to 08 May 2016. EPA/Chema Moya |

Roger Federer’s initial 2016 calendar had no other clay-court tournaments on it aside from the French Open. With Roland Garros still to play, Federer is already set for his second clay-court appearance of the season. After showing up in Monte-Carlo, the 34-year-old Swiss will also play this upcoming week at the Mutua Madrid Open.

Federer tweaked his schedule primarily because he missed all of February with a knee injury, thus forcing him to miss stops in Rotterdam and Dubai. The world No. 3 also missed all of March after withdrawing from Miami prior to his opening match due to illness. A relatively brief stay in Monte-Carlo saw Federer beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Roberto Bautista Agut before falling to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in three sets.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion is 35-8 lifetime in Madrid with three titles. He won the event twice on indoor hard courts and again in 2012 when blue clay was used.

“Federer is one of the best players in history,” said tournament director Manolo Santana. “We are delighted to have him back in the Caja Magica. In addition, he is one of the fans’ favorites because of everything he has achieved in his career. We will be welcoming him with open arms.”

Swiss tennis player Roger Federer returns the ball to Bosnian Janko Tipsarevic during their semi-final match at the Mutua Madrid Open Tennis held at the Caja Magica sport venue in Madrid, central Spain, 12 May 2012. EPA/JUAN CARLOS HIDALGO

A difficult draw awaits Federer, just as it did last year in Madrid when he lost his opening match to Nick Kyrgios. The third seed should not have as much trouble in his second-round match this time around, as he awaits either Joao Sousa or Nicolas Mahut. But he could face either Dominic Thiem, Juan Martin Del Potro, or Jack Sock in the last 16. Additionally, Federer is in the same section of the bracket as Rafael Nadal.

If all of the top eight seeds advance, quarterfinal matchups would pit Federer against Nadal, Novak Djokovic against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Andy Murray against Tomas Berdych, and Stan Wawrinka against Kei Nishikori.