Roger Federer pulls out of semifinal match

Posted by Linda Curtis On Friday, January 6th 2012 in Sports

Defending champion Roger Federer was forced to give up on the semifinal match he had with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Qatar Open because of a back injury he received. The multiple Grand Slam champion is optimistic about his chances to compete in the Australian Open. Federer apologized to the organizers of the event, but revealed he did not want to risk injuring his back further. It is the second time in his career that Federer pulled out of a match.

“I don’t feel a whole lot of improvement for today, and I just don’t think it’s the right time to risk anything more right now,” Federer said. “I still have pain, and that’s why it was the only right decision, a difficult one for me ... So it’s a sad moment for me and for the tournament and for the fans, but health goes first.”

Federer explained he had tried several treatments after first feeling the injury during his Wednesday match. He said the injury started in his first set against Grega Zemlja.

“Then I wasn’t able to serve properly anymore,” Federer said. “Had the same thing yesterday. I was really playing, you know, with the hand brake on, and I was just trying to manage the situation, really. So it wasn’t very easy to deal with.”

Federer hopes to be better with treatment by the end of the week.

“For Australia, I’m optimistic, just because it’s not very good but it isn’t crazy bad,” Federer said. “I have had bad backs in the past. This is definitely not very good; otherwise I would be playing. But I feel without play and the right treatment, I will get through it in the next few days.”