Federer pulls out of Dubai tennis tournament due to injury

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Dubai - Federer confirmed his withdrawal in a tweet on Thursday afternoon.

By James Jose

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Published: Thu 20 Feb 2020, 2:20 PM

Last updated: Thu 20 Feb 2020, 8:45 PM

Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer has withdrawn from the ATP Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships which takes place next week after undergoing a knee surgery.
Former world No.1 Federer, who has won a record 20 Grand Slam titles, the most in history by a men's tennis player, underwent a surgery to his troublesome right knee in Switzerland on Wednesday.
As a result, the 38-year-old, currently ranked No.3 in the world, will not be defending his title in Dubai. Federer has been triumphant in Dubai a record eight times. The Swiss maestro, who has won at the hallowed lawns of Wimbledon, a record eight times, won titles in Dubai from 2003 to 2005. He then went on to win in 2007, 2012, 2014 and 2015 as well as last year.
Federer confirmed his withdrawal in a tweet on Thursday afternoon.
"My right knee has been bothering me for a little while. I hoped it would go away, but after an examination and discussion with my team, I decided to have arthroscopic surgery in Switzerland yesterday," Federer said in a statement on Twitter.
"After the procedure, the doctors confirmed that it was the right thing to have done and are very confident of a full recovery," he added.

Federer will also miss tournaments Indian Wells, Bogota, Miami as well as the French Open, as he works his way on a comeback ahead of Wimbledon.
"As a result, I will unfortunately have to miss Dubai, Indian Wells, Bogota, Miami and the French Open. I am grateful for everyone's support. I can't wait to be back playing again soon, see you on grass!" he tweeted.
Tournament Director Salah Tahlak and Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free, wished Federer a speedy recovery.
"We wish Roger Federer the very best, and despite this news, we still have a fantastic field including world No.1 and Wimbledon Champion Novak Djokovic and last year's finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas as well as Gael Monfils to name a few," said Tahlak.
Meanwhile, McLoughlin said: "We are very disappointed that Roger Federer, our defending champion, has been forced to withdraw from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships this year. His victory here last year, the 100th title of his career, was a significant milestone, and he went on to enjoy another outstanding season. We wish him well in his recovery and look forward to not only watching his progress during the rest of the season but welcoming him back to Dubai in 2021."
The ATP Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships takes place from February 24 to 29.
james@khaleejtimes.com


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