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After Roger Federer was bounced out of Miami last year by Novak Djokovic, he famously said “It was unfortunate, you know, but thank God the hardcourt season is over”

And there was this:

Q. How do you evaluate your play in the first part of the hardcourt season?
ROGER FEDERER: It’s the end. It’s the end of the hard court season. I don’t care anymore. I’m moving over to clay, a new chapter.

Roger wasn’t so dramatic after losing to Berdych on Tuesday night, saying afterwards:

“I’m looking forward to the clay court season now. It helps to kind of move on to a different surface. Then this has nothing to do too much with the clay court season, and that helps.”

But you know that phrase – about a picture (with a caption) being worth a thousand press conference transcripts? Here’s Roger on  Facebook today:

Caption: “I am back on the clay!”

It’s not even the red stuff but its unsophisticated American cousin! Roger must have been craving clay on Wednesday like a drunk American jonesing for a burrito in Paris:  you take what you can get.

It remains to be seen if Roger’s clay craving is satiated. According to his official schedule, he isn’t playing a tournament on the terre battue for a month – when the Rome Masters begins at the end of April. Then it’s Estoril and Madrid for a solid three weeks of tournament prep before Roland Garros. He explained the decision this week:

“I want to have some vacation after a long trip here in the States so I’m really fresh for the long trip really from Rome until Wimbledon.

“I want to be refreshed till the very end of Wimbledon. I believe that this is the right schedule this year.”

Monte Carlo is no longer a mandatory event for the ATP players, but many people – including the tournament director – are hoping Roger repeats last year’s last minute entry. It’s not such a bad place to celebrate a one year wedding anniversary, is it?

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