Roger Federer has announced that he will be playing in this year's French Open championships. The Swiss Master made his decision to play at Roland Garros after his exhibition match with John Isner at "Match for Africa 5" on Saturday in Seattle, Washington.
Federer, who racked up the first big three tournaments of the year at Australia, Indian Wells and Miami, will spice up the competition for the red-dirt Grand Slam.
It has been eight years since Federer raised his first and only French Open crown, and he's looking to win it one more time against an in-form Rafael Nadal, top-ranked Andy Murray and still dangerous Novak Djokovic.
"I am registered and my intention is to play Roland Garros, I feel very privileged to be back on a tennis court," Federer told the network. Federer told the reporters via the Associated Press. "Last year was extremely difficult, having had surgery and the knee never healing. Then I had back pain too, and it all got too much at Wimbledon and I was out for six months."
"But I was able to spend some incredible time with the family and start preparing for this season and hoping that the work that I put in the off season was going to really pay off."
After completing his third Sunshine Double (winning the Indian Wells and Miami Masters) in March, Federer announced that he will be taking a six-week holiday in order for his 35-year old body to recover the wear and tear of competitions.
By mid-April, Federer has hinted the possibility of skipping the entire clay-court season - including the French Open - altogether, but ultimately decided to participate in one of the oldest Grand Slam tournament in tennis.
Federer, despite not being on the tour the last few weeks, appears to be in tip-top shape as proven by his two-set victories against Murray and then Isner 6-4, 7-6 (9/7) in Match for Africa matches, which reportedly generated $2 million in charity.
