'I would be shocked' Former player makes claim over Roger Federer's 2018 schedule

Former British tennis player Barry Cowan does not expect Roger Federer to take part in any clay tournaments as he believes that the Swiss ace will concentrate more on grass and hard courts like he did last year and which eventually reaped him a lot of rewards. The 36-year-old went on to win seven titles in 2017, including two Grand Slams - the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Federer has started 2018 in the same way he did in 2017, winning the Australian Open for the sixth time in his career and Cowan expects him to follow the same schedule so as to be in his best shape during Wimbledon.

Federer's biggest takeaway from last year was his ability to manage his fitness, which came with playing less games and choosing his tournaments intelligently something he is expected to continue this year.

The Swiss ace has followed up his triumph in Melbourne by winning the Rotterdam Open, which helped the 36-year-old return to the summit of the ATP rankings for the first time for five-and-a-half years and become the oldest man to do so in tennis history.

In doing so, he beat Andre Agassi's record, who previously held the record, going to the top of the charts in 2003. He will now skip the Dubai Duty Free Championships to ensure he is fit to retain his titles at Indian Wells and Miami in March, but Cowan does not expect him to play on clay between then and Wimbledon.

"I don't think he will play on the clay. I would be shocked if he plays on the clay because why does it change from this year from last year?" Cowan told Sky Sports.

"I don't believe he can win both the French and Wimbledon so for me it's one or the other. The likelier chance of winning one would be Wimbledon. What would he rather win? Personally, I think he would rather win another Wimbledon title, but only Roger knows that answer.

"It worked last year not playing on the clay and then playing Stuttgart and Halle before Wimbledon, so I don't see him changing that, but no one could ever argue with his schedule. He got it spot on last year apart from when he played in Toronto because that came back to bite him and he wasn't ever quite the same after that. It also cost him his chance of winning the US Open."