Injured Federer to miss French Open

Former champion Roger Federer withdrew from the French Open on Thursday, citing fitness issues, as his record run of appearing at 65 consecutive grand slam tournaments came to an end.

The 34-year-old world number three's appearance at Roland Garros had been in doubt after he missed the Madrid Open with back problems and suffered an early defeat at the Italian Open in the build-up to the clay court major.

Federer took to Philippe-Chatrier Court for a short practice session on Wednesday in the hope that he had made a return to full fitness in time for his 68th Grand Slam.

“I regret to announce that I have made the decision not to play in this year’s French Open. I have been making steady progress with my overall fitness, but I am still not 100% and feel I might be taking an unnecessary risk by playing in this event before I am really ready,” said Federer in an announcement posted to his Facebook page. “This decision was not easy to make, but I took it to ensure I could play the remainder of the season and help to extend the rest of my career.

“I remain as motivated and excited as ever and my plan is to achieve the highest level of fitness before returning to the ATP World Tour for the upcoming grass court season.

“I am sorry for my fans in Paris but I very much look forward to returning to Roland Garros in 2017.”

Federer completed his career Grand Slam with victory at Roland Garros in 2009, has been dealing with a series of injuries in 2016, including recovery from knee surgery following the Australian Open and a back injury in recent weeks.

"Roger's knees are feeling better, but he’s not fit enough to compete in best-of-five matches," said Roland Garros tournament director Guy Forget.

Federer owns the Open Era record with 65 straight appearances in Grand Slam main draws. His streak stretches to 69 straight appearances including qualifying and 73 including the juniors. The last major that Federer did not appear at was the 1997 US Open.

Date: 19 May 2016, Source: Roland Garros, ATP, and Reuters

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Roger Federer's French Open 2016 Outfit

Roger Federer's Roland Garros 2016 Nike Outfit

Date: 17 May 2016

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Federer hopeful of quick recovery ahead of French Open

Roger Federer is confident that he will be fit to play at Roland Garros, despite his 6-7(2), 4-6 third-round loss to Dominic Thiem on Thursday at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

The former world number one has been battling against knee surgery and back injuries this year and was not at his best, admitted, "I'm happy I was able to play and still feel about the same, like yesterday, not worse. That was most important. The next 10, 12 days are really going to be important for me to recover, and then make a plan.

"I'm confident and hopeful at the same time. I have only played five matches in the last four months now, so clearly I don't want to get too overly excited about what's ahead, but at the same time I'm a positive thinker and I believe that I'm going to recover.

"I knew I wasn't good enough for any result here, so that's why I hope you don't read into it so much, and I don't. This is like, 'Who cares about the results here?' It matters what comes now in the next couple of months.

"Hopefully, the next 10 days are going to be easier and I can practice really well, sort of starting next week. That's the hope I have and then we'll see the rest, how it's going to come."

Federer, who had practiced on clay in Miami and for 10 days in the build-up to last month's Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, is not concerned that he lacks matches. "I have never had better clay-court preparation, to be honest," said Federer. "I have a lot of hours on the clay already this year. Maybe not on match courts but on practice courts.

"I actually thought I could really do a good result in Paris. Now the past couple of weeks it's been more difficult. I see my chances as not great to have the most unbelievable run, but if maybe in three, four days I can practice 100 per cent for the next week, then I believe that something is possible again.

"Time starts ticking more towards Paris. Clearly, the way I'm playing right now is never going to be enough for any good run in Paris, and then I also wouldn't play this way. I'm still confident I will be fine somehow."

Federer will enter the second Grand Slam championship of the year - Roland Garros, which begins on 22 May, with an 11-4 record on the season. Federer remains two match wins (1,070) away from moving past Ivan Lendl to No. 2 in the Open Era list for most victories. Jimmy Connors leads with 1,256 match wins.

Date: 12 May 2016, Source: ATP and AP

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Federer unsure of playing Rome third round

Roger Federer put his full array of shots on display in a 6-3, 7-5 win over Alexander Zverev on Wednesday in the second round of the Italian Open, an encouraging performance considering he only decided to play moments before stepping onto the court.

''I was expecting to lose in straight sets today. That was the mindset going in, so to win in straights is actually a really big surprise to me,'' said Federer, who has been having problems with his back. ''I played cautious, and I only decided after the warmup that I was actually going to play. So for me it was a big match on many levels.''

After withdrawing from Madrid with lower back pain, Federer looked sharp from the start against the 44th-ranked Zverev, using his backhand slice drop shot especially well.

''This was something that I feel like I needed to do to get a sense of where I'm at. It would have been easy not to play and then just be unsure how I was going to feel in Paris. So at some point you have to go out there and see how it feels, and I'm happy I was able to play a full match without any setbacks,'' said Federer, who also missed 10 weeks earlier this year after surgery on his left knee to repair a torn meniscus.

''I'm coming off a brutal last few months, and I'm just happy to be able to play normal tennis to some extent. So for me it's a big day and huge step in the right direction.''

''Clearly he has a big game and nice technique and good attitude and all that,'' the 17-time Grand Slam champion said.

Federer will next meet 13th-seeded Dominic Thiem, who beat Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-3, 6-2, but he couldn't immediately confirm that he would play Thursday.

''I don't know how I'm going to feel tomorrow,'' Federer said. ''I hope so. But I'm literally going practice after practice. Every 15 minutes I speak to coaches Ivan Ljubicic or Severin Luthi and say, What else can we do?

''It's baby steps right now. So to even think of tomorrow is already a big ask,'' he added.

Federer is attempting to win this tournament for the first time. It's his 16th appearance in Rome and he's a four-time runner-up.

''It would be wonderful to win, but not this year,'' Federer said. ''I'm too far off.''

Rome is the last major warmup for the French Open, which starts May 22.

Date: 11 May 2016, Source: AP and ATP

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Federer withdraws from Madrid with back injury

Roger Federer has withdrawn from the Mutua Madrid Open because of a back injury, the World No. 3 announced on Monday. The Swiss was scheduled to play on Wednesday in just his second tournament back since undergoing knee surgery in February.

"I don't want to take more chances as I know I'm not going to be fully ready for Wednesday," he added, referring to his opening match.

Federer, however, said he would be back for the Rome Masters next week.

"I would rather play it safe and rest up now and get ready for Rome. I'm sorry to the tournament for coming and leaving without playing.

"I arrived and I was okay and then I practiced on Saturday and hurt my back a little bit and stopped early. I'm very disappointed to say the least," said Federer.

"I changed my schedule around and practiced well in Switzerland before coming here."

The three-time Madrid champion said he was scheduled to practice for two hours but had to quit after one hour and 15 minutes. He skipped practice altogether on Sunday and Monday.

Federer has struggled with injuries this season. He underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus on 3 February and was scheduled to return at the Miami Open in March. But the all-time great had to withdraw from the Masters 1000 tournament because of a stomach virus. Instead, he returned to tour-level action last month at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, making the quarter-finals.

''It's been a tough year,'' Federer said. ''I hope it gets better from here.''

Federer downplayed the seriousness of the injury, saying that it has happened to him before and he knows how to treat it.

''This is normal back things I've had in the past, which I guess is good, because I know how to handle it, I know how long it can take,'' Federer said. ''It's the back stuff I kind of know. I'm OK with it, at least I know what it is.

"Nevertheless, I've been able to practice as much as I've wanted to. I came back on tour quicker than I thought I would. So in terms of schedule, I guess I still am still somewhat on par."

Federer admitted his lack of match practice during the clay-court season could affect his chances at the French Open, but is focused on being 100 percent for his quest to land an eighth Wimbledon title and a first Olympic singles gold.

"The goal has always been that I'm at a 100 percent when the French comes around. If not, then, at the latest, Wimbledon," he continued.

"I probably can enter the French Open or clay-court season with maybe a little bit less expectations because you guys expect less from me.

"I'm not the overwhelming favourite in those events, and sometimes that can be helpful, too. I still put pressure on myself wanting to go far and deep and play well.

"Maybe something can happen at the French. If not, there is still a huge summer ahead."

Date: 2 May 2016, Source: ATP, AP and Reuters

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