Federer undergoes knee surgery

MANILA, Philippines — Roger Federer has undergone surgery to resolve a longstanding knee problem and said Thursday he would be out of action until after the French Open while his rivals backed the 38-year-old to return as strong as ever.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner revealed on his Facebook account that he underwent surgery in Switzerland on Wednesday and would miss a string of tournaments including the May 24-June 7 French Open.

“As a result, I will miss Dubai, Indian Wells, Bogota, Miami and the French Open,” he said.

Federer, who has amassed 103 career titles, explained that he had intended to avoid surgery if possible but the problem in his right knee refused to go away.

He will now target a return for the grass court season and an assault on a ninth Wimbledon title after reaching the final in 2019 where he had two championship points before losing an epic final to Novak Djokovic.

“My right knee has been bothering me for a little while,” added the world number three who reached the Roland Garros semifinals last year.

“I hoped it would go away, but after an examination and discussion with my team, I decided to have arthroscopic surgery in Switzerland yesterday.”

“After the surgery the doctors confirmed that it was the right thing to have done and are very confident of a full recovery.

“I can’t wait to be back playing again soon – see you on grass.”

Federer, French Open champion back in 2009, will miss Roland Garros for the fourth time in five seasons.