Copyright © 2016. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

Roger Federer may yet have a change of heart and add a second clay event to a compact and Olympic-focused 2016 schedule. At least that’s the impression the 17-time grand slam event champion gave as he prepared to step into action at the Australian Open.

In a calendar released last month, the 34-year-old listed Roland Garros as his only venture onto the dirt in a jam-packed year of competition with all roads pointing to the Rio Games. But some reconsideration may be going on the Team Federer camp with the addition of new coach Ivan Ljubicic.

Federer now says that there could be a few small changes: “I did not want to disappoint my fans, If I play (a second clay tournament) it will be a surprise for them. I will decide after Indian Wells, depending also on the results I will get until that tournament,” Federer told the Tennis World website.

Under his current plan, Federer will play Rotterdam and Dubai next month, then the Indian Wells Masters before working on his game and missing clay Masters 1000 events in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome. Last season, the Swiss pulled a joker out of the deck and won the tiny Istanbul event on clay, a tactic which cannot be discounted.

Federer goes into his Australian Open start confident after last week’s influenza which likely compromised his final in Brisbane.

Copyright © 2016. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.