Federer Withdraws from French Open

Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 5, 2021 Switzerland's Roger Federer. Reuters
Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 5, 2021 Switzerland's Roger Federer. Reuters
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Federer Withdraws from French Open

Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 5, 2021 Switzerland's Roger Federer. Reuters
Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 5, 2021 Switzerland's Roger Federer. Reuters

Former world number one Roger Federer has withdrawn from the French Open a day after winning his third-round match, organizers said on Sunday.

"After discussions with my team, I decided that I should withdraw from the French Open today. After two knee operations and more than a year of rehabilitation, it's important that I listen to my body and not rush back into competition," 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer said in a statement released by the French tennis federation.

Federer, who turns 40 on Aug. 8, was competing in his first major tournament since the 2020 Australian Open. Shortly after that event, he had the first of a pair of operations on his right knee.

He had played just three matches this season before arriving in Paris for the clay-court Slam, which he won in 2009.

Federer had made clear last month that he did not see himself as ready to contend for the French Open title this time and instead had his sights on Wimbledon, the grass-court major he has won a men's-record eight times. Play begins at the All England Club on June 28.

Federer edged 59th-ranked Dominik Koepfer 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 7-5 in the third round, a match that began Saturday night and ended as 1 a.m. approached Sunday.

The No. 8-seeded Federer was supposed to play No. 9 seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy in the fourth round on Monday.

The winner of the match will face either No. 1 Novak Djokovic or unseeded Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals.



Motorcycling-Double Dakar Winner Sunderland Chasing Round the World Record

Rallying - Dakar Rally - Prologue - Alula to Alula - Alula, Saudi Arabia - January 5, 2024 Red Bull GASGAS Factory's Sam Sunderland in action during the prologue stage REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
Rallying - Dakar Rally - Prologue - Alula to Alula - Alula, Saudi Arabia - January 5, 2024 Red Bull GASGAS Factory's Sam Sunderland in action during the prologue stage REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
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Motorcycling-Double Dakar Winner Sunderland Chasing Round the World Record

Rallying - Dakar Rally - Prologue - Alula to Alula - Alula, Saudi Arabia - January 5, 2024 Red Bull GASGAS Factory's Sam Sunderland in action during the prologue stage REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
Rallying - Dakar Rally - Prologue - Alula to Alula - Alula, Saudi Arabia - January 5, 2024 Red Bull GASGAS Factory's Sam Sunderland in action during the prologue stage REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo

Double Dakar Rally motorcycle champion Sam Sunderland is gearing up to ride around the world in 19 days, a record bid that the Briton expects to be mentally more challenging than anything he has done before.

The bid, launched on Thursday, targets a record of 19 days, eight hours and 25 minutes set in 2002 by Kevin and Julia Sanders for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe by motorcycle.

To beat the feat, which is no longer recognised by Guinness World Records because of the dangers involved, the 36-year-old will have to ride 1,000 miles every day and on public roads across Europe, Türkiye and into the Middle East, Reuters reported.

A flight will take him on to the Australian outback, New Zealand and the Americas. From there, he and the Triumph Tiger 1200 go to Morocco and loop back through Europe to Britain.

What could possibly go wrong?

"I don't think you can ride around the world and cover that many miles a day without having a few hiccups along the way," Sunderland told Reuters with a grin.

"When I try and compare it to the Dakar it's going to be probably, in some sense, tougher. Not physically but mentally.

"In the Dakar you've got a heap of adrenaline, you're super focused, things are changing quite often which makes you have to react. And this is like: 'Right, those are your miles for the day, get them done'. It's more like a mental fatigue."

 

ONE DIRECTION

 

The target time excludes ocean crossings but the journey, starting in September, must go one way around the world and start and finish at the same location on the same machine.

Two antipodal points must be reached on a journey through more than 15 countries and 13 time zones. The Dakar rally covers 5,000 miles over two weeks.

"I was trying to put it into perspective for my mum the other day, and my mum lives in Poole in the south of England, and I was like 'Mum, it's like you driving up to Scotland and perhaps halfway back every day for 19 days'," said Sunderland.

"I'm on the bike for around 17 hours (a day). I set off at 5 a.m. and arrive around 10, 11 p.m. most nights. So definitely later into the day you feel that sort of mental fatigue setting in, and to stay focused and stimulated is not that easy.

"But at least I don't have dunes and mountains to deal with and other riders in the dust, and hopefully not getting lost either."

"I need to behave, let's say, I need to follow the rules of the road and be a good boy with it," said Sunderland, who announced his retirement from professional racing last year.

Sunderland will have a support crew of six travelling behind by car, for security and assistance, but the Red Bull-backed rider expects to be well ahead.

He also hopes his bid will have a positive effect.

"In the news today, it's all sort of doom and gloom in the world, with all the wars going on," he said. "And I think it's quite nice to show people that you can still get out there and experience the world for what it really is."