Roger Federer withdraws from Australian Open 2021

The six-time Australian Open champion Roger Federer will not compete at the Australian Open for the first time since 1999, failing to recover in time from the knee injury.

Roger had played in Melbourne for 21 consecutive seasons, winning 102 matches and lifting six trophies, including his last Major so far from 2018. A few weeks ago, Federer announced it would be tough for him to get back at 100% in time for Melbourne, training hard in Dubai in the last couple of days but still needing more time to make an official return.

Federer played only one tournament in 2020, reaching the Australian Open semi-final and skipping the rest of the season following two knee surgeries in February and May.

After the second, Roger knew he wouldn't play again in 2020, switching focus on 2021 and setting eyes on Wimbledon, the Olympic Games and the US Open as his prime targets in the rest of the season.

"Roger has decided not to play the 2021 Australian Open. He has made strong progress in the last couple of months with his knee and his fitness. However, after consultation with his team, he decided that the best decision for him in the long run is to return to competitive tennis after the Australian Open. I will start discussions this coming week for tournaments that begin in late February and then start to build a schedule for the rest of the year," Toni Godsick said.