PARIS. – Former world No. 1 Roger Federer, who is targeting a record 21st Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, withdrew from the French Open on Sunday, 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.
“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.
Shortly after Victoria Azarenka, one of the biggest potential threats to Serena Williams in the bottom half, had lost 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 to Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Williams, 39, walked on to play 21-year-old Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan for the first time.
But the American was outplayed, losing 6-3, 7-5 to a player contesting her first Grand Slam last 16 match.
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.
He had said after Saturday’s match that he was pondering whether to participate in the second week of the clay court Grand Slam as his season goal was Wimbledon, the grass-court major starting on June 28.
“We go through these matches. . . we analyze them highly and look at what’s next and we’ll do the same tonight and tomorrow,” he said.
