From what I have heard, those types of surgeries take 6 weeks for full recovery. As such, I think he will miss IW. I am not sure if that will alter his plans for the rest of the year. If I recall, before the 2016 seasons even started, Federer did not plan on playing in Miami or in any of the three clay court Masters events. He intended on playing at IW and then the next tournament he was planning on playing was Roland Garros. I assume his plans will remain unchanged.
@Alexandre, that’s correct. He was going to play IW, take a break and not play again until RG. Since he won’t be 100% in time for IW it’s smart to add MC to his schedule - especially since clay should be easier on his knee then hard court,
Another crazy week in the ME on both the men’s and women’s side. Bizarre retirement from Djoker, retirement from Kyrgios (saw that coming from a mile away) and Bags in a final?!? The ATP is turning into the WTA!
Monte Carlo makes better sense. It is prudent to heal completely. Besides, it will serve him much better as a tuneup for Roland Garros.
Kyrgios, I fear, will suffer a similar fate as most players 6’4" or taller…chronic injuries. I hope I am wrong because he is a great talent…and he finally seems to be getting his emotions in check. Alexander Zverev is another very talented young player who I fear may be too tall (already 6’6" at 18) to endure the physical demands of tennis. Borna Coric and Dominic Thiem seem to have bodies better suited for the game. It will be interesting to see which of those young players will emerge as the leaders of their generation’s pack.
Kyrgios is undisciplined and I doubt he is willing to put in the time to get physically fit enough to withstand the rigors of playing on tour. He has said he doesn’t even like playing tennis so I doubt he will work hard off court to get himself in the best shape possible to withstand the punishment his body takes by playing.
Agree about both Thiem and Coric. Nice SAm tour for Domi.
I think you are right about Kyrgios. I think Agassi was a little like him earlier in his career (lacking discipline), although Agassi was always classy on the court.
So happy Nick K is injured and LL Is subbing so now I can root for the Aussie this tie! Have to bring out my Fanatics t-shirt. 
I would have been very conflicted if he had been playing.
Sorry to learn that Bud Collins died. He provided so much color to tennis through my years as a fan. I was surprised that he was only 86. Because he had been around forever in my mind, I thought he was 90+.
Very sad that Bud Collins died. I too thought he was older. I guess he fell at his hotel at the US Open a couple of years ago and had been going downhill since.
RIP Bud. He drove me crazy at times with his counting how many hits every rally, but he had an encyclopedic mind when it came to tennis history and always pronounced players names correctly. Plus, he wore the same type of pants as my uncle. They surely shopped at the same store. 
Great dubs match last night but bummed about the outcome. I really, really, really dislike the evil chest bumpers.
Breaking news:
I don’t think she will get a very long suspension - given it was not on the banned substance list until January 2016 and she didn’t try to hide she was taking the drug when she got tested during the AO.
The drug is only available in Eastern Europe, and I guess a Russian ice skater also tested positive.
Unless her doctor just lied to her I do think she was taking the Meldonium as a performance enhancer. It’s not approved by the FDA, only taken by Russians.
Why neither she nor anyone on her team knew that Meldonium or Mildronate was being banned as of Jan. 1 is a mystery.
But I have to believe that Sharapova didn’t know it was now banned as she had to know she would be drug tested at the Australian. The top players get drug tested more often than the rest. (Unless she thought she had a way to cover up the presence of the Meldonium in her system),
I have not seen any articles quoting doctors or any experts on this subject as yet.
She got a letter in December from the agency that gives the info to athletes but said she didn’t open the link to the list of newly banned frugs. She said in her presser she takes full responsibility for it.
Published in Sports Illustrated:
Sharapova’s lawyer:
“I want people to know that for 10 years Maria took this substance, which was recommended to her by her doctor after he did an extensive battery of tests to determine what medical conditions were causing her to be sick on a frequent basis. He found that she had abnormal EKG readings, that she had some diabetes indicators and when he coupled that with a family medical history of those issues, as well as low magnesium and some immune deficiencies, it was his job as her doctor to prescribe or recommend the medication that would help her be healthy”
Not published in Sports Illustrated:
This drug was developed in ex-USSR and manufactured in Latvia. It helps with handling physical stress and lack of oxygen in the body. In addition to Sharapova they have already caught using this drug in 2016: 6 Georgian athletes, a Russian figure skater and a cyclist, a few Ukrainian biathlonists and a Swedish runner.
German journalist who did a documentary about illegal drugs in Russian sports believes that 17% of Russian athletes used this drug in 2015 when it was not prohibited yet.
She also listed it as one of the drugs she was taking when tested in Australia. Athletes are required to supply list of drugs they take to the testers. She didn’t try to hide the fact she was taking it. I assume she has been listing it for past ten years.
She screwed up, of that there is no doubt. And she’ll get suspended but likely not for long. My guess is 4 months. Or if more, it will get reduced on appeal.
I don’t really care if only Russian and eastern European athletes have been using this drug since it was legal in those countries and perfectly legal for athletes to use it until Jan. 1, 2016.
Maybe you care that her lawyer is lying to the general public.
“Extensive battery of tests” ~X(
No, I don’t care. It wasn’t illegal to take until 1/1/16.
I also don’t care why she was taking it since it wasn’t illegal for her to do so until this year. And I’m not saying this because I am a fan of hers as I am emphatically not.
Well it’s being reported that Nike dropped her - that has to hurt.
As for taking a non-FDA, non-EU approved drug, which is only available in Eastern Europe, as the only possible treatment available for Maria’s ‘condition’ - please.
NBCNews is reporting that TAG dropped her, but that Nike suspended her. Personally, I will be surprised if they drop her completely.
“As for taking a non-FDA, non-EU approved drug, which is only available in Eastern Europe, as the only possible treatment available for Maria’s ‘condition’ - please.”
Was it illegal for her to be taking the drug before 1/1/16? She listed for 10 years that she was taking this drug before 1/1/16. It was not on WADA’s list of banned performance enhancing drug in all that time. In all those years she never failed a drug test because it wasn’t a banned substance. Period.
Djoker sat in an egg for a few years which supposedly increased red blood cells to enhance performance. It wasn’t illegal either. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904787404576532854267519860