Paris, May 16: 18-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has pulled out of French Open 2017. Federer, who won his last Major title at the Australian Open earlier this year, said he needed to avoid playing on clay to extend his career.
Federer will now miss French Open two years in a row after missing out last year as well due to injury.
“Regrettably, I`ve decided not to participate in the French Open,” the Swiss maestro said on his Facebook page on Monday.
“I`ve been working really hard, both on and off the court, during the last month but in order to try and play on the ATP World Tour for many years to come, I feel it`s best to skip the clay-court season this year and prepare for the grass and hard-court seasons,” he added.
“The start to the year has been magical for me but I need to recognise that scheduling will be the key to my longevity moving forward. Thus, my team and I concluded today that playing just one event on clay was not in the best interest of my tennis and physical preparation for the remainder of the season.”
Federer won his sole Roland Garros title in 2009.
After missing out from tennis action for six months in 2016 after ungergoing a knee surgery, Federer got back to winning ways as he defeated old nemesis Rafael Nadal at the Rod Laver Arena to win his 18th Grand Slam title. That wasn’t the end as he followed it with remarkable wins in Indian Wells, Calif. and Miami.
