Nigeria Content Online

Roger Federer gave a cautious thumb up, on Sunday, to the ATP’s decision to shorten the men’s calendar by two weeks from 2012.

TP Chief, Adam
Helfant, announced at the season-ending World Tour Finals that a
seven-week off-season had been agreed to placate some of the world’s
leading players who believe the current schedule is too long. The Swiss
16-times grand slam champion was not one of the players calling for
more time off, but said he was happy enough with the decision taken at
a board meeting on Saturday. “I think it’s a good thing but time will
tell,” the 29-year-old said of the move, which will mean the ATP’s
season-ending showpiece will start in the first week of November in
2012, immediately after the Paris Masters. “It’s a decision taken. It’s
in stone now. I think it’s good to have somewhat of a bit of a longer
off season.” “Will we have less or more injuries because the calendar
is more packed? I don’t know. But I definitely think it’s a step in the
right direction.”

Athlete welfare

Andy Roddick and
Rafael Nadal have both called for more of an off-season, although
Federer said the current calendar had worked well for him.

“I was not the guy
fighting it as much as maybe other players because I feel if the
season’s long, you take more breaks during the season,” he said. “But I
think just having a bit more of an off-season makes more sense for
everybody.” Helfant, who took over in 2009 and has made athlete welfare
his priority, said the extra time off would allow players to recover
from injuries and compete at higher level for longer. “Our 2012 and
2013 calendars each provide for the seven-week off season, meaning that
players will have an additional two weeks to spend away from the rigors
of life on tour before taking up the cause again the following year,”
he said. The main bone of contention, and a possible headache for the
ATP, will be that there will be no gap between the end of the Paris
Masters and the Tour Finals, meaning the eight qualifiers might not be
known until a day before the showpiece event.

The new calendar will also mean certain tournaments have been
re-scheduled, although the amount of events will remain unchanged,
former Nike executive Helfant said. “Our players do not have adequate
time to rest, work on their fitness and work on their game during our
off season,” he said. “It is our responsibility as the governing body
of the tour to see if we can find a way to address this issue.” Helfant
said he had spoken to the International Tennis Federation about
changing the date of the Davis Cup final which is traditionally held
the week after the Tour Finals.