Following his sudden withdrawal at the Miami Masters due to stomach flu, Roger Federer has apparently added another clay-court tournament in his European clay-court schedule, as he will be competing at the 2016 Rome Masters.
The 34-year old Federer originally planned to compete at the Monte Carlo Masters, skip the rest of the clay-court tournaments, and play at the 2016 French Open.
However after missing roughly two months due to a knee injury, the Swiss Master decided to compete in the final pre-French Open tourney in Rome, a tournament he hasn't won at this point despite four finals appearances.
Via UbiTennis.com:
"Roger Federer will be in the main draw in Rome. This was announced by the website of the FIT, stressing that the Swiss program has been obviously modified after the operation arthroscopy on his left knee, which forced him to miss the first two Masters 1000 this season , Indian Wells and Miami (Federer was not present in two consecutive 1000 from 2005), and even before the events in Rotterdam and Dubai, where he was defending the title."
Federer was originally scheduled to make his return from a knee surgery (repaired torn meniscus) at the Miami Masters, but he pulled out hours before his match with another returning Grand Slam winner Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina.
The Rome Masters is one of the three ATP Masters 1000 events set in the European clay-court season - the other are the Monte Carlo Masters and Madrid Masters. Winning the Rome Masters would be huge for any competitor as they carry a huge momentum heading into the French Open.
World's no.1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic, 7-time winner Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray are all scheduled to compete in this tournament.