Roger Federer has announced that he will be taking an indefinite break from the tour beginning with a withdrawal from the Stockholm Open. It will be tough for tournament organises, but Federer has wisely decided his body needs the rest.
Throughout the year, Federer has been playing catch up. He probably never really recovered from the Mono, and his decision to keep playing was probably due to the fight to keep the No. 1 ranking. He also wanted to be fit for Wimbledon. He lost that, and also his No. 1 ranking.
He pushed himself through smaller tournaments (at this stage of his career, even Masters are considered relatively small), and harnessed all his energy for the Slams reaching the final rounds of three of them, and eventually winning one. There is no greater time for Fed to take a break than now.
This break also says a lot about the possible burnout that everyone has been expecting of him. He probably suffered from it for most of the year but as Jim Courier put it, 'played a very high stakes poker game.'
The US Open win very much relieved him of the pressure to prove himself. He can now rest, knowing that the tennis world still knows he still has it. Furthermore, he can now ride out either the rest of the year or early next year on the strength of his US Open win. This will keep the opponents guessing.
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