Federer confirms French Open plans

Roger Federer has announced he will play at the French Open next year and it may be his only clay-court tournament of 2020. The 20-time Grand Slam winner rejected any speculation 2020 could be his last year on the ATP Tour earlier this month and has now revealed he intends to head to Paris. Federer reached the semi-finals of the French Open this year, losing out to eventual champion Rafael Nadal, and also competed on clay in the Madrid Open and the Italian Open in the build-up to the Grand Slam event. The 38-year-old Swiss hasn’t categorically ruled out entering any of the other clay events on the European swing before the major in Paris in 2020, but he is planning a limited schedule as he intends to head to Tokyo for the Olympic Games later in the summer. “I will play the French Open. I probably won’t play much before it because I need time away,” the world number three told CNN. “Before that we need a vacation, we need a break, and especially if I am playing in the Olympics.”