Where is Roger Federer?
This winter, again, while it seems the rest of the men’s and women’s Tours are rolling along on the various continents, Roger Federer is taking an extended break after the Australian Open. Once can’t stress enough the importance of smart scheduling and its
impact on the success and longevity of the careers of top athletes. Federer has consistently taken four breaks during the year, i.e. now, after Wimbledon, after the U.S. Open and at the end of the year.
During his time off the Tour, Federer is most likely still “working” hard the majority of the time rather than lounging on a beach for weeks. Federer may be training very hard on the tennis court and with off-court physical fitness work. During the actual weeks that he is at a tournament, Federer tends to have very casual, light hitting sessions and pre-match warm-ups because he’s done this preparatory work in his off-weeks. Clearly, players lower down the rankings ladder need to play more frequently in order to earn money and garner ranking points. At the same time, Novak Djokovic managed to claim his second Australian Open title after a very short off-season by riding the wave of confidence from his Davis Cup win. However, Djokovic should carefully plan the rest of his 2011 season or it will all catch up to him… Each player has to find the right balance of match play, practice and training, but Federer seems to have a very good model that others could follow.
During his time off the Tour, Federer is most likely still “working” hard the majority of the time rather than lounging on a beach for weeks. Federer may be training very hard on the tennis court and with off-court physical fitness work. During the actual weeks that he is at a tournament, Federer tends to have very casual, light hitting sessions and pre-match warm-ups because he’s done this preparatory work in his off-weeks. Clearly, players lower down the rankings ladder need to play more frequently in order to earn money and garner ranking points. At the same time, Novak Djokovic managed to claim his second Australian Open title after a very short off-season by riding the wave of confidence from his Davis Cup win. However, Djokovic should carefully plan the rest of his 2011 season or it will all catch up to him… Each player has to find the right balance of match play, practice and training, but Federer seems to have a very good model that others could follow.
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