Paris - Roger Federer says that injuries to Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga which have crippled home hopes at the French Open cannot be blamed on a crowded tennis calendar. The super-fit Swiss, whose bout early-season bout with glandular fever remains one of his few physical problems, said that the ligament cyst of Gasquet and the knee surgery required by Australian Open finalist Tsonga are down to bad luck
"It has nothing to do with the schedule and it has nothing to do with the clay," said the top seed. "There are some tournaments, and this is the schedule.
"This is the calendar. There are some players who are injured, but we are not a contact sport. In any situation, there are always players who are injured.
"We all know how many tournaments we have to play. It's important to play the Grand Slams and the Davis Cup."
Federer's bottom line: if you are injured, you don't play. That's the way it is."
He added: "Tsonga and Gasquet were unlucky"
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NOTEBOOK: Busy Becker unlikely candidate for full-time senior tour =
Paris - Bustling businessman Boris Becker says he's too busy to train hard enough for regular appearances on the expanding senior tour.
With the arrival of former rival Stefan Edberg onto the scene more than a decade after retirement, fellow over-40 Becker insists that he won't follow suit.
"I'm not that often on the tennis court nowadays. I play about 10 exhibition matches per year," said Becker, whose various commercials interests include tennis television commentary, a chat interview show on German private television, a clothing line and a company registered in Zurich.
"My body cannot take more. If I were to play on the Champions Tour, I would have to practise at least as much as in the old times.
"At some point you will feel your age."
But Becker will be making an exception at the French Open, teaming with Cedric Pioline during the second week at Roland Garros. "I'm very much looking forward to that."
