Roger Federer will head straight to Wimbledon without any grasscourt practise, after fatigue forced him out of his traditional Wimbledon warm-up tournament in Halle.
The Swiss ace, 27, made history recently when winning the French Open for the first time to equal legend Pete Sampras’s record of fourteen Grand Slam Singles titles. However he has decided to withdraw from the Gerry Weber open as he does not want to risk injury ahead of SW19, and it is clear that his Roland Garros exploits have lead him to feel exhausted:
'It is hard for me to admit, but I simply cannot imagine giving my best effort in another tournament right away and I don't want to risk injury if I am not 100 per cent prepared. I need to rest and recuperate.’ Said Federer, who also apologised to the tournament organisers regarding his absence.
Roger Federer is as short as odds on at 10/11 with Bet 365 to reclaim his Wimbledon crown, although Paddy Power still offer 11/10 about the five times winner’s chances in 2009.