May 31, 2005 from Roland Garros Official Site:
Roger Federer took another step closer towards the Roland Garros title on Tuesday following his straight set whitewash of unheralded Romanian Victor Hanescu to storm into the last four for the first time ever.

The 23-year-old world No1 played like slick tennis to outclass his 23-year-old unseeded opponent 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-3 in just over two hours on Court Philippe Chatrier. The Swiss stylist gunned down seven aces, cracked an astounding 56 winners to Hanescu's 17 while committing 36 mistakes. Federer, who has yet to drop a set in the tournament, is now just two matches away from unlocking the secret of success on clay here and making history as the sixth man to capture all four Grand Slam titles.

The Swiss, who is making his seventh appearance here having played every year since making his Grand Slam debut as a wild card in 1999, made a ragged start, committing seven unforced errors in seven minutes. But once his game settled in, the all-court genius was simply irresistible, breaking a hapless Hanescu in the third and seventh game to secure the first set.

In the second set, the 90-ranked Romanian, the lowest-ranked quarter finalist here since 1999, stood strong and did not crack under the relentless pressure despite conceding his serve in the third game. The feisty Hanescu broke right back for the first time of the match and grew in confidence as the match progressed, planting gorgeous one-handed backhands down-the-line to go up 5-4. Federer pressed Hanescu in the eleventh game but squandered two break point opportunities to take the lead. The Swiss maintained his composure and ran away with the second set tie-breaker.

from Zee news:
In the elegant surroundings of the Pavillon d'Armenonville, the International Tennis Federation honoured Roger Federer and Anastasia Myskina among the 2004 world champions on Tuesday in Paris.

The 23 year-old said why 2004 was so special to him: "I will probably pick up my Wimbledon title defence. That was great. The final was a real battle between me and Andy (Roddick). I turned it around. There was a rain delay and of course the Masters Cup in Houston it was also fantastic because that was the end of the year tournament. It was the best eight and I came back from injury there. That was great so, these two are my highlights."

The elegant Swiss has a career Grand Slam in mind having reached the semi-finals of the French Open - the only one of the four major tournaments he is yet to win. Were Federer to beat 18-year-old Rafael Nadal in Friday's hugely anticipated semi-final and then triumph in Sunday's final it would attest that his extraordinary talent is coupled with extreme versatility.

(L- R top row) Michaella Krajicek of Holland, Ruano Pascal of Spain, Paola Saurez of Argentina, Anastasia Myskina of Russia, Roger Federer of Switzerland, Mike Bryan of USA, Bob Bryan of USA, Gael Monfils of France, (bottom row L- R) Esther Vergeer of Holland and David Hall of Australia pose for a photo at the ITF World Champions Dinner at the Pavillion d'Armenonville after the ninth day of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 31, 2005 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

from Roger Federer Official Site:

Roger was delighted to meet Gianluigi Buffon, a famous Italian soccer-goalkeeper. The two sports stars met and had a chat in Paris last week. It is always a pleasure for Roger to meet such interesting personalities and have a laugh with them.

May 29, 2005 from AFP:
PARIS - Ruthless Roger Federer equalled his best ever French Open performance on Sunday when he booked a place in the quarter-finals with a clinical 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 demolition of Carlos Moya. The top seed, bidding to become only the sixth man to win all four Grand Slams, will take on unseeded Romanian Victor Hanescu, who had suprisingly knocked out 10th seed David Nalbandian, for a place in the semi-finals.

Moya was hampered by a severe shoulder injury and Federer admitted it was his intention to exploit the weakness. Moya, the 14th seed and winner here in 1998, had never beaten Federer in five previous attempts and the fact that he twice needed treatment on his injured right shoulder didn't help his cause.

May 27, 2005 from Sporting Life:
Roger Federer dismissed the potentially-tricky challenge of Fernando Gonzalez to keep his French Open title bid firmly on track. The top seed was given a stern test in the early stages of their third-round clash, but he made his class tell, particularly on the big points, before running out a 7-6 (11/9) 7-5 6-2 winner.

Gonzalez fought back from a break down to force the tie-break in the opening set. In it he held two set points when he led 6-4, but Federer stood firm and eventually won the breaker 11-9.

Federer again surrendered an early break of serve in the second set as Gonzalez continued to crack his trademark, go-for-broke winners, often seeking out the backhand wing of his opponent. But with errors inevitably entering Gonzalez's game, Federer stepped things up again in game 11, breaking the Chilean's delivery and then serving out to love to establish a two-set lead.

May 25, 2005 from Roland Garros Official Site:
Roger Federer steamrolled his opponent on Wednesday, booking safe passage into round three with convincing displays. The 23-year-old Swiss stylist routed Spain's Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 7-6 (0), 6-2.

Federer raced out of the box and broke the 19-year-old Spaniard in the fourth game to lead 4-1. Known for his terrier-like retrievals, the Spanish baseliner was never able to find any consistency as he littered the court with 16 unforced errors in the opening set.

Federer played exquisitely, mixing up his game and employing his feel for the ball to derail his opponent. The Swiss was cruising and looked as if he was about to take a commanding two sets to love lead after breaking his opponent in the 9th game. But the 76-ranked Almagro broke right back with two amazing winners and reeled off two straight games to go up 6-5. Federer firmed up his game at crunch times and dominated the tie-breaker before securing the win in a lopsided third set triumph.

from United Nations:
New York - Roger Federer has been named the first United Nations spokesperson for the International Year of Sport and Physical Education, in recognition of the outstanding example he sets as a role model in sport and his foundation's work in South Africa.

Mr. Federer has pledged to cooperate with the UN to use the power of sport to bridge cultural and ethnic divides and improve the quality of people's lives. His eponymous foundation in South Africa helps widen educational opportunities by funding school fees for hundreds of children, providing them with a warm meal each day and paying teachers' salaries.

May 23, 2005 from Roland Garros Official Site:
Roger Federer and Spanish stud Rafael Nadal took the first step towards their much anticipated semi-final meeting with relative ease Monday. Federer's only hiccup against Israel's Dudi Sela on Court Philippe Chatrier came early in the second set when he fell behind 1-3, but the Swiss reeled off 11 of the next 12 games to run away with a 6-1 6-4 6-0 decision.

Although he made an uncharacteristic 17 unforced errors in the opening set, Federer displayed his usual supreme shot-making ability, especially at the net (winning 75 percent of net points played) and in that dominating third set. Federer will next play Spain's Nicolas Almagro.

May 22, 2005

Roger Federer returns the ball during a French Open exhibition match against Thierry Ascione of France on Benny Berthet Charity Day at Roland Garros stadium in Paris. Traditionally held on the Sunday before the French Open, Benny-Berthet Day is undergoing a makeover for the 2005 tournament. Consequently, all of the exhibition games played as part of this charitable event taking place on 22nd May this year, held between noon and 19.00 hours on the stadium's three main courts: the Philippe-Chatrier, the Suzanne-Lenglen and No.1 courts. The format of the matches is also being adjusted to make it one real set, with a tiebreak if necessary at 6 games all (previously, matches were decided by the best out of nine games). (Photo by Francois Lenoir/Reuters)

May 21, 2005
Roger Federer talks about the upcoming French Open:

"Honestly, I don't see it being such an unbelievably tough draw. Maybe we see different players in the draw, but I'm not worried about playing anyone. I knew the draw was going to be tough, no matter who is in my region. Maybe you think its tough because Nadal is in my section. But that will be in the semis so if I'm there, I'll be quite happy."

"If I win the French, I've got them all. I'm confident I can do it. Everybody keeps asking [if I can win the French], and I don't quite understand why. I agree it's the one I haven't won, but it's because I won the other three last year, I can't expect to win them all right away. You have to be patient."

"I am confident I can win any tournament, I can win at the French. This is a bigger challenge for me."

"Roland Garros seems to bring more unknown players into the light such as Gaston Gaudio last year or Albert Costa (in 2002). Those are great stories when you see those guys reach their goals towards the end of their career. But I don't think this is going to happen all over again."

Roger Federer at the nike kids clinic at Oaris Jean-Bouin tennis complex. (Photo by Nicolas Luttiau/L'Equipe/EQ Images)

May 20, 2005 from AFP:
PARIS - Roger Federer's campaign to become just the sixth man to win all four Grand Slams was boosted when he was presented with a gentle passage through the opening skirmishes at Roland Garros. But the top seed could clash with Rafael Nadal, the fourth seed, in the semi-finals.

Federer's first-round opponent will be a qualifier or lucky-loser. Initially Federer had been drawn against Robin Soderling, but the Swede was seeded 33 after compatriot Joachim Johansson withdrew. His first serious test shouldn't arrive until the fourth round where he could face Spain's 1998 champion Carlos Moya over whom he holds a 5-0 career record.

May 19, 2005 from Roland Garros Official Site:
Roger Federer had two further sessions on the Philippe-Chatrier court (including one with Jerome Haehnel), an arena where success has eluded him in the past and on which he is keen to get off the mark.

from ATP Insider:
On Monday evening in Estoril, Roger Federer was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in front of a star-studded crowd. In front of sport's greatest athletes and some of Hollywood's biggest stars, Federer was named as the top sportsman of 2004. Federer and girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec sat at a table with Cuba Gooding, Jr. and next to was the King Juan Carlos of Spain, and David and Victoria Beckham and Miguel Indurain. "That was the first I spoke with Beckham, he was nice, a gentleman," Federer said. "The atmosphere was very nice, good dinner. We were a bit tired, we came from Hamburg via Zurich but we stayed up to celebrate my award. It was nice (Boris) Becker was there and (Martina) Navratilova. We had a drink with her afterwards and only went to bed at 4. Then we came to Paris because I wanted to have as much practice as possible on the Centre Court here! This was for me something very, very special. The fact that I have beaten competition such as Lance Armstrong and Michael Schumacher." Said Becker of Federer's honor, "He served up superb, winning tennis throughout the year and at 24, it leaves us all wondering what he can achieve in the future."

from Tennis Week:
International Tennis Hall of Fame president and Grand Slam champion Tony Trabert will be be presented with the Philippe Chatrier Award, the International Tennis Federation’s highest honor, recognizing individuals for their contribution to tennis in a ceremony in Paris on Tuesday, May 31st at the ITF's World Champions Dinner.

The ITF World Champions Dinner will honor top-ranked Roger Federer and reigning Roland Garros champion Anastasia Myskina as the 2004 ITF World Champions. Federer was the ITF Junior Boys World Champion in 1998 and is the fifth player since the award was established in 1978 to have earned both honors, joining Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, Martina Hingis and last year's ITF World Champion, Andy Roddick.

May 18, 2005 from Roland Garros Official Site:
While, on one side of the stadium, the qualifiers are in full swing, on the other, the stars are honing their game. World number 1, Roger Federer, has been fine-tuning his serve-volley combination on the Philippe-Chatrier court, where the newly arrived Andy Roddick and Tim Henman have also been training. David Nalbandian, Marat Safin and Andre Agassi have been hard at work too, as has Agassi's other half, Steffi Graf. The German champion with 22 Grand Slam titles to her name (including six in Paris) was spotted knocking up with Darren Cahill, her husband's coach.

May 16, 2005 from AFP:
ESTORIL, Portugal - Switzerland's triple 2004 Grand Slam tennis champion Roger Federer won the top male individual prize at the sixth annual Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony. Federer fought off competition for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award from Michael Phelps, Hicham El Guerrouj, Lance Armstrong, Michael Schumacher and Valentino Rossi.

"Being nominated by an academy that has so many prestigious sportsmen and women as members was already a huge honour," said Federer as he received his award. He is the first Swiss to win the award.

"My main ambitions now are to win the French Open for the first time and to stay as the world number one," Federer said Monday. "I failed at the Australian Open, but the season is going well, I already have six titles."

"Wimbledon and Roland Garros (French Open) are important goals but it would be great to win the final three Slams of the season and the Masters," he added. "If I win in Paris it means I have won every Slam, which is something only a few players can claim."

"I guess Wimbledon will always remain number one in my heart," said the Swiss star. "It was where I won my first Grand Slam, and all my heroes have played there."

Roger Federer attends a media conference prior to the Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony to be held at the Estorial Casino. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images for Laureus)

Federer and Mika Hakkinen (right) pose prior to his ride in a AMG Mercedes Touring Car at the Estoril Autodrome. (Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images for Laureus)

Roger Federer and his girlfriend Miroslava 'Mirka' Vavrinec pose as they arrive at Estoril's Laureus World Sports Awards, near Lisbon, May 16, 2005. The Laureus awards celebrate sporting excellence across all disciplines and all continents.

Federer holds the Laureus Sports Award trophy during the awards ceremony. Federer and Britain's double Olympic athletics gold medallist Kelly Holmes won the two top individual honours. The awards are decided by the Laureus World Sports Academy, a jury of 40 of the greatest sportsmen and women of all time. (Photos by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

from Yahoo News!:
NEW YORK (BUSINESS WIRE) - 2K Sports today announced its summer and fall lineup of sports game titles that will be highlighted at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2005 in Los Angeles on May 18 - 20, 2005. One of them is Xbox's "Top Spin 2" which is one of the top Xbox sports games, in both sales and popularity returns for another victory on Xbox 360. Everything you loved about Top Spin is back and made even better. The peerless player-creator is reborn with the powerful Digital Identity that truly puts you in the game. Experience Grand Slam events in venues that are alive and dynamic with environmental elements that react to your play. Characters are even more stunning with the addition of HD technology and the inclusion of the top players in the world like Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams, Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt and Roger Federer. Put it all online and you once again have the greatest tennis game ever created.

May 15, 2005 from Reuters:
HAMBURG - Roger Federer retained his Hamburg Masters title with a comprehensive 6-3 7-5 7-6 victory over Richard Gasquet on Sunday. The world number one avenged his defeat by Gasquet in the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters last month, one of only two losses Federer has suffered in his last 59 matches.

The top seed was never at his best but Gasquet, ranked 56, failed to convert any of the five break points he earned as Federer secured his 19th consecutive victory in an ATP final. The win, wrapped up 7-4 in the third-set tiebreak, completed a highly satisfactory warm-up for Federer a week before he bids to win the French Open claycourt grand slam for the first time. Federer did not drop a set all week and earned 340,000 euros for winning his third Hamburg title in four years.

He has made a habit of starting his matches slowly this week but was quickly 3-0 up at the Rothenbaum against Gasquet, albeit with the help of a forehand smash net-cord on break point. Errors flowed as freely as winners from his racket after that and he saved three break points at 4-2 before serving out the first set.

Gasquet, playing in his second ATP tour final, was on top for much of the second set but squandered two more break point chances and paid a heavy price. Federer broke to love to lead 6-5 after an untimely stream of Gasquet mis-hits and in the next game the Swiss classily wrong-footed the teenager with an ace to go two sets up.

Roger Federer holds the trophy after his final against Richard Gasquet at the ATP Masters Series tournament in Hamburg, northern Germany. (Photo by Fabian Bimmer/AP)

May 14, 2005 from AFP:
HAMBURG - Roger Federer moved imperiously to his sixth final of the year and to within one win of defending his Masters Series clay court title with a performance in which he moved through the gears to defeat Nikolay Davydenko. The world number one's 6-3, 6-4 success over the Russian who has newly arrived in the top 20 increased his amazing record since last year's US Open to 56 wins out of 58 matches

Federer started sluggishly, dropping serve at once and twice slipping to within a point of going two breaks down. But once he had made up the deficit it was hard to believe that there had ever been one. When that happened Federer hit such a heavy ball that he applied constant and seemingly effortless pressure, as well as several moments when he would pull something totally unexpected out of the bag.

The first of these was on the first point of the sixth game, in which he broke Davydenko to take an ominous 4-2 lead. He shaped as if to play a backhand slice which would pin his opponent back, but cut underneath the ball more severely and made a brilliant winning drop. Then when he was serving for the set Federer produced a crushing opening point, serving out wide to the forehand and opening up the court for a thumping backhand drive winner into acres of space.

Federer broke through again in the third game of the second set, partly through the cumulative pressure of his heavyweight game, which forced Davydenko into overstretching himself and delivering a double fault on game point. The 15th seed still maintained his policy of trying to play faster, something which brought mixed results. Several times he became unusually animated when errors resulted.

May 13, 2005 from Reuters:
HAMBURG - Roger Federer swept through to the Hamburg Masters semi-finals with a resilient 6-4 7-6 victory over Guillermo Coria on Friday.

The 23-year-old top seed, who also beat Coria in last year's Hamburg final, was a break down in both sets and behind in the tiebreak but recovered to quell the 10th seed and set up a semi-final against Russian Nikolay Davydenko. Federer punched the air in delight after lashing a forehand winner past Coria on match point.

Federer trailed 3-1 in the first set before unleashing some devastating backhands to help turn it around. He broke decisively at 5-4 with Coria, last year's French Open runner-up, twice hitting forehands out to lose the set.

The second set was interrupted for five minutes with Coria trailing 2-3 after a spectator fell ill in the stands, and the incident seemed to break Federer's concentration. A careless forehand gave Coria break point soon after and, riding his luck, the Argentine mis-hit a forehand on to the line to lead 4-3. Federer broke back for 5-5, however, and took the tiebreak 7-3 after overturning a 0-2 deficit as a tired-looking Coria, beaten in five sets in the Rome final last Sunday, lost his nerve under pressure.

May 12, 2005 from AP:
Top-ranked Roger Federer moved closer to his sixth title of the year Thursday, beating Tommy Robredo 6-2, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the Hamburg Masters. Federer, 38-2 for the year, is playing his first tournament after a three-week break to rest swollen feet. The Swiss star will next meet Coria in a repeat of last year's final. Federer, the defending Hamburg champion, ended the match with a volley winner, finishing with 21 winners to only five for the 14th-seeded Robredo.

May 11, 2005 from AFP:
HAMBURG - Roger Federer exacted the revenge he has waited nine months to get when he atoned for one of the most surprising defeats of recent times to reach the third round of the Masters Series. Federer had been touted as one of the all-time greats on arrival in Athens and yet was beaten by the little known Tomas Berdych in the second round of the Olympic Games.

Now however the world number one overcame the Czech 6-2, 6-1 in only 54 minutes to reach the last 16 in defence of his Hamburg title. This time on the damp, cold clay Federer had control of his ground strokes, something which he never achieved during his horror day during a hot Greek summer, and as a result had almost complete control of the contest. There were about ten minutes during which doubt remained as to whether Berdych could create trouble again for the favourite, and after that it was one way traffic as Federer imposed constant pressure from both wings.

Federer was very prepared and very focused and broke serve at once, and the only moments in which he was half challenged came shortly after that. Berdych held serve at the second attempt and then stretched Federer on his serve to deuce, but the Wimbledon and US Open champion was in resolute mood and held on to that game with an ace. He then built up the momentum, winning eight games out of nine and serving with the wonderfully fluent rhythm which is his characteristic, effective even when he is not striking the ball hard.

May 9, 2005 from AFP:
HAMBURG - Roger Federer indicated that all is well with his problematic feet by making a winning return to the ATP Tour on Monday after a three-week absence in the Masters Series. Federer overcame Fernando Verdasco, the left-handed Spaniard who has twice overcome world number three Andy Roddick this year, but never looked likely to repeat the upset against the number one seed.

Federer's 6-4, 6-3 success was based on two perfectly timed breaks of serve, and on excellent movement on the slowest of clay court, suggesting that the blisters which kept him out of last week's Rome Masters have healed. Federer's last match had seen him beaten by Richard Gasquet, but now he was rolling smoothly, his ground strokes fluently creating angles and options as he probed for openings.

Verdasco responded by trying to deny Federer time, trying to swing the ball from side to side, occasionally taking chances, coming forward in conditions not suited to net attacks, and winning his first four service games. Verdasco also looked odds on to reach 5-5 when he reached 40-love in the tenth game, only for Federer to put together a wonderful rally in which he worked his way forward and finished it off with a neat volley.

That seemed to inspire the defending champion to move into a higher gear. Suddenly he was dominating the rallies, winning a fierce forehand-to-forehand exchange to reach set point and converting it with an audacious forehand nimbly taken from wide on the backhand side.

Something similar happened in the second set. Verdasco clung to his service games up to 3-3 at which stage Federer again produced a supreme shot, a backhand slice carved so short it became a drop shot winner, again lifting his game for a killer surge. Once again he completed the break by skipping across to the backhad to take his big forehands, and two inside-out drives did the damage which took him to 5-3.

May 7, 2005 from ATP:
Roger Federer and Tommy Haas marked the start of the Masters Series Hamburg tournament in style on Saturday, playing on a special 'floating' tennis court on the River Elbe. The players traded their usual fluid ground strokes, except this time on a special court installed on a pontoon carried along by a push-barge.

The activity coincided with the 816th birthday of the Hamburg harbour. The 30 meter-long pontoon was paraded in front of hordes of spectators on the banks of the River Elbe as the players braved the wind and the waves to put on a startling 20-minute exhibition in front of an estimated 15,000 spectators.

The players, who received widespread applause for their efforts in unfavorable conditions, hit tennis balls to the intrigued crowd before hopping onto a second boat to tend to numerous media commitments prior to the start of main draw action in Hamburg.

Federer: "It was a lot of fun and very enjoyable to play with Tommy. You could feel the waves, the court was definitely moving. It was windy, a nice fresh breeze and the surface was definitely a lot quicker than clay. We got used to it though and got some good rallies going in the end. They said 10 to 15,000 people watching from the harbour. That was fantastic."

Roger Federer and Tommy Haas (front) play a tennis show match on a pontoon boat on the Elbe river in the northern German city of Hamburg May 7, 2005. Hamburg celebrates the 816th "Hafengeburtstag" (harbour birthday) this weekend and the two players promote next weeks Masters series Hamburg 2005 Tennis tournament. (Photo by Christian Charisius/Reuters)

May 6, 2005 from Yahoo News!:
NEW YORK - (BUSINESS WIRE) - 2K Sports, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., today announced that it will be releasing the number one rated(1) tennis game, Top Spin, on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Developed by PAM Development and produced by Indie Built, a 2K Sports development studio, Top Spin for PlayStation 2 will be available this summer.

Top Spin takes 16 of the top professional tennis players in the world including Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer, Venus Williams and Carlos Moya and puts them in gamers' hands to create the most realistic tennis game ever. Players must work their way up from an unranked amateur with no skills, to a top ranked player in the world with huge endorsement deals. Top Spin further pushes the edge of competition as the only PlayStation®2 tennis game playable online. For more information, please visit www.2ksports.com

May 5, 2005 from Miami Herald:
As if Roger Federer needs any more advantages, he agreed to test new ''performance-enhancing'' contact lenses that have been making the rounds in Major League Baseball clubhouses. The lenses, called MaxSight, are tinted amber and red and help battle the sun's glare. The lenses are codeveloped by Bausch and Lomb and Nike, which sent samples to D.C. United of Major League Soccer and also to the football, baseball, tennis and track teams at the University of Miami.

May 4, 2005 from Reuters:
World number one Roger Federer has confirmed he will return to Davis Cup action for Switzerland against Britain in a World Group playoff in September. Federer, who skipped Switzerland's first round defeat by the Netherlands in March, said he would take part in the home tie against a British side weakened by the absence of world number six Tim Henman who has retired from Davis Cup duty.

Federer followed Tuesday's playoff draw closely, his agent said on Wednesday, and decided to return to the Swiss fold almost immediately. "I will play," Federer said. "I will be delighted to represent the Swiss team against Britain. And hopefully I can help keep the Swiss team in the World Group of next year's Davis Cup."

Federer missed the first round Davis Cup defeat because it interfered with his tournament schedule. But the patriotic player said all along he would keep his options open for later matches in the men's team competition. Britain, who squeezed past Israel 3-2 in a Euro/Africa zonal match in March, would have been underdogs for the trip to Switzerland even against a Federer-less Switzerland. Now they have a mountain to climb.

Britain's captain Jeremy Bates said: "It's an exciting challenge. The opportunity to play against the world number one is something everyone should look forward to." But on Federer's decision to return, Bates added: "It's up to him to decide what he does, but it makes a bit of a mockery of the competition when leading players dip in and out. Federer did not play when Switzerland had a chance of reaching the quarter-finals, and will come back when he's needed to keep them up."

May 1, 2005 from Roger Federer Official Site:
Dear fans,

In order to rest and fully treat the foot-injury that has been bothering me since the Australian Open I have decided to renounce from taking part at the Masters Series tournament in Rome. Apart from this fact my further preparations are going according to schedule.