Roger Federer never second guessed decision to skip 2017 French Open

World No. 5 Roger Federer does not regret his decision to skip the entirety of the European clay-court season, including the 2017 French Open, as he prepares for next month's Wimbledon. Last week, Federer returned to action in the Mercedes Open, ending his two-month hiatus from the sport.

A rusty Federer fell in the opening-round to Tommy Haas at Stuttgart, Germany. But the 35-year-old is feeling confident entering this week's Gerry Weber Open in Halle, a grass-court ATP World Tour 500 event that he has won a record eight times.

“The history I have here, having come and played well so often, definitely should help me to play good tennis this week. I love playing here. Yes, I think I can come in here with good confidence," Federer said Sunday, ahead of his Round of 32 match against Taiwan's Lu Yen-hsun on Tuesday.

Gerry Weber Open: Roger Federer will face Lu Yen-hsun on Tuesday

Federer holds a 3-0 head-to-head record against Lu but is hoping for stiff competition from the Taiwanese in his attempt to reach top form ahead of the Wimbledon which gets underway on July 2.

"It’s important for me, especially after the Stuttgart week, to come here and make sure I win my first-round match and get going. I want to take the right decisions on the tennis court. I don’t want to question myself too much. I’ll have the right focus and mindset, that point-by-point mentality. That was a little bit off in Stuttgart, understandably so. I have to learn from that week and move forward in a better way.”

Meanwhile, the Swiss Master maintains that skipping the clay-court season was the right decision. "I didn’t want to compromise the goal of the grass-court season, Wimbledon, the US Open and beyond. I felt that the French Open may potentially have a negative effect on what’s to come. It may have been helpful, but I felt there was more risk that it would go the other way. Based on health, that’s why I decided to skip. But it’s not a trend that I might follow in the future. I don’t know what the future holds. This was just a one-off decision."

Roger Federer began 2017 with victories at the Australian Open, his career 18th Grand Slam title, and the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells before clinching the ATP Masters 1000 title in Key Biscayne, Florida. He hasn't won a grass-court title since the Halle Open in 2015. This year, Federer would look to win in Halle to gather momentum ahead of the 2017 Wimbledon.