Staff Reporter.
Roger Federer has withdrawn from this month’s Toronto and Cincinnati Masters events with a knee injury – putting his US Open participation in doubt.
The 39-year-old missed the Tokyo Olympics due to a “setback to his knee” after being knocked out of the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, had double knee surgery last year.
The Toronto Masters starts on 9 August, Cincinnati is a week later and the US Open begins on 30 August, in New York.
Federer – who turns 40 on Sunday – has only played 13 matches in 2021 after just six matches in the pandemic-hit 2020 season.
The Swiss won the last of his five US Opens in 2008 and his most recent major was the 2018 Australian Open.
Since then Novak Djokovic has claimed eight more majors and Rafael Nadal has picked up four. All three great rivals now stand level on 20 Grand Slams.
Federer, ranked ninth in the world, has 103 career titles from his 23 years on tour, with a combined 310 weeks at number one.
Tokyo men’s singles gold medallist Alexander Zverev will also skip the tournament in Toronto to get some extra rest.
Meanwhile, Nadal, 35, was knocked out of the Citi Open in Washington in the third round by South Africa’s Lloyd Harris – his comeback event after a two-month lay-off with a foot injury.
Nadal overcame a lingering foot injury on Wednesday evening to beat home favourite Jack Sock in a final-set tie-break in front of an energised crowd. But the South African would not allow the top seed to work his magic again.
“Today was really special. I think I have had some big wins, and this year I have beat some Grand Slam champions,” Harris said. “But to beat a 20-time Grand Slam champion, and especially in front of a full crowd and with such an amazing atmosphere, it was definitely something very special.”
The pain did not impact Nadal’s fighting spirit — and the Spaniard said he felt better against Harris — but it was not enough to topple the South African. The World No. 50 improved to 2-5 against Top 10 opponents after two hours and 11 minutes.
“I did a lot of good things. I think the best thing was to stay in the moment, keep my composure, and I think I just stayed with my game and stayed playing a consistently good level throughout the match,” Harris said. “It was a good, quality match, I think. Not easy for me out there. It was pretty physical, but all in all, I’m just super happy with how everything turned out.”
There was no Citi Open last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fans have come out in full force this year, especially for Nadal’s matches. As the top seed won critical points, roars echoed from the stands and many Nadal supporters leapt to their feet. But they were fair to Harris as well, especially when the unseeded right-hander hit a stunning lob on match point to complete his victory.
Harris will face Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the quarter-final after Nishikori beat Britain’s Cameron Norrie 3-6 6-3 6-3.