Washington (AFP)

Roger Federer will not compete in the Masters 1000 in Toronto and Cincinnati, ATP announced Thursday, the move raising doubts about his participation in the US Open which begins on August 30, a week after the Cincinnati tournament final.

The Swiss, who turns 40 on Sunday, reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in July before being drastically eliminated in three sets by Pole Hubert Hurkacz.

He then withdrew from the Olympic tournament in Tokyo, due to a knee injury.

He has only participated in five tournaments this season: two Majors, Wimbledon and Roland Garros, and the tournaments in Halle, Geneva and Doha.

He signed his return to the circuit in Qatar in March after undergoing two operations on his right knee after the 2020 Australian Open.

The Swiss, who has 20 Grand Slam titles to his name, has not played at Flushing Meadows since 2019. He did not appear in the tournament last year.

Roger Federer however shone at the US Open during his career.

Between 2004 and 2008, he won five consecutive titles on the Arthur Ashe court.

Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro stopped his streak in the 2009 final, won against Switzerland.

He has only reached the final at Flushing Meadows once since.

It was in 2015, against the Serbian Novak Djokovic, who has just equaled the record of Grand Slam titles jointly held by Federer and the Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

In Toronto and Cincinnati, the Swiss have signed convincing results in the past.

He has twice won the tournament in Canada, and seven times - a record - the American Masters 1000.

Federer won't be the only headliner missing in the province of Ontario.

The newest Olympic champion Alexander Zverev, bronze medalist Pablo Carreno Busta and Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini are also forfeited.

© 2021 AFP