World Number 3 Roger Federer has pulled out of the Gerry Weber Open due to fatigue. Federer lost to Lleyton Hewitt in the 2010 Halle final and was due to play the Australian in the first round on Wednesday.
In a statement on his website, a day after losing to Rafael Nadal in the French Open final, Federer said
“I’ve unfortunately had to pull out of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany. I am very disappointed as it’s one of my absolute favorite tournaments on the ATP Tour, but my body, especially my groin, really needs a rest.After talking with my team this morning, I feel that it’s way too risky to take a chance on aggravating it even more before Wimbledon.I send my very best wishes to the tournament organizers and all my fans in Halle, and again I am so sorry I can’t go this year. But I will see you next year.”
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The Gerry Weber Open is held every year before the Wimbledon as a warm up tournament and is a part of ATP World Tour 250 series on the ATP Tour Schedule. Federer is a five-time champion at this tournament and was the No.1 seed for this year.
Federer’s withdrawal leaves Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic as the highest-seeded player left in the draw at No. 2.
Tournament director Ralf Weber expressed his shock at Federer’s decision. “It is a personal disappointment for me and I have no words to describe it properly. The whole tournament was themed around Roger’s participation and he never gave us any signals that he had health issues.”
