Roger Federer pulled out of the French Open earlier this week before his fourth-round match against Matteo Berrettini.
Roger Federer has opened up on his decision to withdraw from the French Open after beating Dominik Koepfer. The former world No 1 was making his appearance first appearance at a Grand Slam since the 2020 Australian Open having spent over a year out of action with a knee injury.
Federer tried to play down expectations before the tournament, insisting his main focus was on the grasscourt season.
But he got off to an impressive start with a comfortable straight-sets victory over Denis Istomin.
That was followed up by a tough battle against Marin Cilic, coming through in four sets.
Koepfer pushed Federer all the way with the first three sets going to a tiebreak but the 20-time Grand Slam champion did enough to advance to the second week of the French Open.
However, Federer shocked everyone when he announced that he was withdrawing from the tournament to protect his body.
The 39-year-old didn't reveal much else about the condition of his knee in his announcement.
But Federer has now spoken at length ahead of the Halle Open, suggesting his exceptional record on tour makes him exempt from explaining too much.
"Well, when you retire on the middle day between match days, in this case before Monday, you don’t have to hold a press conference and give long explanations," he said.
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