Federer ruled out of Australian Open

Former world number one and men's Grand Slam record holder Roger Federer will miss the 2021 Australian Open, as he continues to recover from two surgeries on his right knee.

The 39 year old hasn't played a competitive match since his exit from the 2020 edition of the tournament in January this year, and is set to miss the first Grand Slam of the New Year despite a delayed start date of February 8th.

Federer, a six time Australian Open champion won't appear at the tournament for the first time since 1999, his agent Tony Godsick saying in a statement he won't be fit in time to play at Melbourne Park.

"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," Godsick said.

"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."

Federer is currently training in his usual off-season home of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

The choice to delay his comeback came with input from coaches Severin Luthi and Ivan Ljubicic and fitness coach Pierre Paganini.

The Australian Open was supposed to begin in January but because of pandemic-related complications, was pushed back until early February. It was hoped the delay would give Federer enough time to recover from his injuries and take part in the major but sadly, that isn’t the case.

IMAGE: Fox Sports.