Just a day after winning his third-round match, Swiss great and current World Number eight Roger Federer has withdrawn from the ongoing French Open tennis tournament.
Federer took to Twitter to inform his followers about his decision.
“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.
“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, the 2009 Roland Garros champion, has hardly played in the last 17 months because of a knee injury.
After winning his third-round contest on Saturday, Federer said that he was thinking whether to continue ahead or not as his season goal was Wimbledon, which will be starting on June 28.
“We go through these matches… we analyse them highly and look on what’s next and we’ll do the same tonight and tomorrow. Because I need to decide if I keep on playing or not, or is it not too much risk at this moment to keep pushing or is this just a perfect way to just take a rest,” he added.
Commenting on Federer’s withdrawal, tournament director Guy Forget said: “The French Open is sorry to see Roger Federer withdraw from the tournament but he put up a great fight last night. We were all delighted to see him back in Paris, where he played three top-level matches. We wish him all the best for the rest of the season.”