Federer right to skip Rogers Cup: coach

BASIL: Roger Federer’s coach, Severin Luthi, says that the 20-time Grand Slam champion is correct to delay starting his hard-court season.

Federer withdrew from the ATP Masters at Toronto, but plans to be back on court at the Cincinnati Masters and the US Open. Most top players are returning to competition at Toronto. In an interview with Tages Anzeiger, Luthi said the No. 2 was back in the gym, but indicated he has yet to begin regular hitting sessions following his quarterfinal defeat to Kevin Anderson at Wimbledon. “First he stopped for a few days, then began physical conditioning again in Switzerland,” he said. “Meanwhile, he has played some tennis, but more as exercise.” The coach analysed Federer’s quarterfinal exit, saying he had been too “conservative” upon going two sets up against Anderson, allowing the South African to lift his own game.

“Roger was too often behind the baseline, which is unusual, and Anderson began to dominate, launched by his serving,” said Luthi, who was also asked about the scheduling of the encounter on Court No. 1 rather than Center Court. “Court No. 1 was definitely not an advantage — the sun comes differently into the stadium, as does the wind bBut Roger is not someone who is looking for excuses in retrospect. He did not mention it either.