Roger Federer, who is targeting a record 21st Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, withdraws from the French Open, opting to save himself for the grass-court season
Switzerland's Roger Federer returns the ball to Germany's Dominik Koepfer during their men's singles third round tennis match on Day 7 of The Roland Garros 2021 French Open tennis tournament in Paris on June 5, 2021.
Former world number one Roger Federer, who is targeting a record 21st Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, has withdrawn from the French Open, a day after winning a tough third-round match, opting to save himself for the grass-court season. "After discussions with my team, I decided that I should withdraw from the French Open today," Federer said in a statement released by the French Tennis Federation on Sunday.
"After two knee operations and more than a year of rehabilitation, it's important that I listen to my body and not rush back into competition," the 39-year-old Swiss added. Federer, who has hardly played in the last 17 months because of a knee injury, suffered physically in his four-set, late-night victory over German Dominik Koepfer on Saturday and decided to end his Roland Garros campaign ahead of what would have been a punishing fourth-round match against Italian Matteo Berrettini.