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By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, August 5, 2021

 
Roger Federer

Seven-time Cincinnati champion Roger Federer has withdrawn from this month's Western & Southern Open due to a knee injury.

Photo credit: Roland Garros Facebook

Competitive tennis won't be part of Roger Federer's birthday month.

Federer, who celebrates his 40th birthday on August 8th, has withdrawn from this month's Toronto Masters and Cincinnati's Western & Southern Open due to a knee injury. 

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Seven-time Cincinnati champion Federer is the winningest player at the Western & Southern Open with a 47-10 record. The most recent of his record seven championships came in 2015 when he successfully defended his title.

The move puts Federer's status for this month's US Open in doubt.

The 39-year-old Swiss has not played since suffering a 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-0 loss to Hubert Hurkacz in last month's Wimbledon quarterfinals and his absence from the entire US Open Series suggests its unlikely he would play Flushing Meadows without hard-court preparation.

The former world No. 1 was bageled for the first time at SW19 suffering his first Wimbledon straight-sets loss since he bowed to Mario Ancic in the 2002 first round.

Tennis Express

Asked afterward if it was his final farewell to Wimbledon, Federer said he was unsure.

"I don't know. I really don't know," Federer said. "I got to regroup. My goal was always for the last year and more to always try to play another Wimbledon. The initial goal, like you know, was to play last year. That was anyway never going to happen. Plus the pandemic hit. I was able to make it this year, which I'm really happy about...

"Obviously we're going to speak a little bit tonight, depending on how I feel, then the next couple of days as well. Then we go from there. Just see, Okay, what do I need to do to get in better shape so I can be more competitive."



Federer repeatedly said at Wimbledon his goal is to compete, but given advancing age and the state of his surgically-repaired knee, his immediate competitive future is uncertain. 

"I'm actually very happy I made it as far as I did here and I actually was able to play Wimbledon at the level that I did after everything I went through," Federer said at Wimbledon. 
"Of course I would like to play it again, but at my age you're just never sure what's around the corner."

Six former men’s champions remain entered in the Western & Southern Open, including two-time champions Novak Djokovic (2020, 2018) and Andy Murray (2011, 2008) along with Daniil Medvedev (2019), Grigor Dimitrov (2017), Marin Cilic (2016) and Rafael Nadal (2013).

The women’s field will feature five past champions, including two-time winners Serena Williams (2015, 2014) and Victoria Azarenka (2020, 2013) as well as Madison Keys (2019), Garbine Muguruza (2017) and Karolina Pliskova (2016).

The Western & Southern Open will be held August 14-22nd, with first serve will take place at 10 a.m. on August 14th for the qualifying tournament. The men’s and women’s singles finals will take place on Sunday, August 22nd.

The US Open begins on August 30th in New York.

 

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