Roger Federer has announced his comeback tour has been delayed, the Swiss prioritising his training instead of playing additional matches.
This comes off the back of a narrow defeat by Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili on Thursday 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 where Federer excited the Qatar Open in the Quarter Finals.
His previous game in the competition was also a narrow result, the 39 year old edging out Cheltenham-based Dan Evans 7-6, 6-3, 5-7.
Federer was set to play in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships next week, but confirmed on Instagram his decision to prioritise regaining his fitness.
“I’ve decided it’s best to go back to training and as a result, I’ve decided to withdraw from Dubai next week.”
The current Number 6 in the world has been absent from tennis since the Australian Open in January 2020, two separate knee surgeries keeping Federer out of action.
After previously pulling out of the Miami Open later in March, likely meaning his full return to the courts will be on clay, with Federer himself admitting this fact following his defeat to Basilashvili.
“I think matches are important. What comes before the grass courts are the clay courts. So from that standpoint, I have no choice but to play on clay if I want to play matches.”
Federer also hinted at featuring at the clay courted French Open in his recovery, with longtime rival Rafael Nadal the clear favourite in that event, with his record 13 wins over double the second placed Björn Borg’s total.
The 20 time Grand Slam winner also confirmed to reporters his aim to return to full form ahead of Wimbledon taking place from June.
“I don’t know how many months that is till Wimbledon, maybe four months or so, I think we’ve just got to take a real good look at the schedule.”
Basilashvili moves into the semi-finals following his win against Federer, as he faces Taylor Fritz, with the other tie seeing Andrey Rublev taking on Roberto Bautista Agut.