Roger Federer considers skipping Rogers Cup if sore back doesn’t heal

Swiss superstar Roger Federer is mulling the option of withdrawing from next week’s Rogers Cup if his back doesn’t improve by then. Federer has been busy the past two weeks participating at two claycourt events wherein he’s competed with a larger tennis racquet with mixed results.

At the Hamburg event, Federer reached the semifinals and lost to Federico Delbonis of Argentina and at Gstaad last week, he was eliminated in the second round by Germany’s Daniel Brands.

“I’ve had serious problems with the back; I had to get some anti-inflammatories last week in Hamburg due to the pain,” he said.

“I will have to do a lot of exercises and see how it all feels. My main priority now is to fix my back. I would love to be able to train at 100 percent. I’ll have to see if the rehab is enough to let me play in Montreal. If it is, I’ll go; if not, then it gives me another week.”

Federer couldn’t tell for now if the decision to switch to a larger racquet has paid off.

“A change like this is very important but I honestly can’t tell right now due to my low level. It’s hard to analyze anything,” he said. “I still don’t have even enough information to try and explain. I have no clue where I am right now with the racquet change.”