Roger Federer withdraws from French Open, citing knee pain, after third-round triumph

Roger Federer's bid to win a second French Open title came to a close without him tasting defeat on the clay at Roland Garros. 

After his third-round win over Dominik Koepfer on Saturday – the match lasted four sets, three of which were tiebreaks, and ended past 1 a.m. – Federer announced in a statement Sunday that he was withdrawing from the Grand Slam.

Injuries, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, have affected Federer's time on the court over the past year and change. His most recent Grand Slam was the Australian Open in January 2020, when he made it to the semifinals before losing to Novak Djokovic in straight sets.

That was the only tournament Federer played in 2020, as he went on to have two right knee surgeries and was sidelined for the remainder of the year, ending 2020 at 5-1. It was the first time since 2016 that he did not record at least one singles tournament win. That year, he played only 28 matches because of a separate knee injury.

Federer, 39, returned to the court in March of this year, missing the Australian Open to start the season. He played in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, falling to Nikoloz Basilashvili in three sets in the quarterfinals, before participating in the Gonet Geneva Open in May, falling to Pablo Andujar in three sets in the second round.

In this week's opening rounds at Roland Garros, Federer found early success, knocking off veteran Denis Istomin in the first round before taking down 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic in four sets in the second round. 

However, after a grueling third-round win over Koepfer, Federer's body had apparently had enough.

Now the question becomes: Where does Federer go from here? 

The co-all-time leader in Grand Slam wins – Federer and Rafael Nadal are tied at 20 – has not won a Grand Slam since the 2018 Australian Open and is far removed from his magnificent prime, when he won 16 Grand Slams between 2003 and 2010.

Coming into this year's French Open, Federer said he was being honest with himself about his chances to win the tournament. 

"I’m just realistic, and I know I will not win the French, and whoever thought I would or could win it is wrong," Federer said before the tournament.

Nadal – a 13-time French Open champion – is a heavy favorite to win the tournament and take over sole ownership of the all-time Grand Slam record, with Djokovic hot on his heels with 18 Slams.

Federer, approaching 40, appears to be in the twilight of his career, and now the focus will shift toward whether he can continue to play this season and make a run at Wimbledon, an event he has won eight times. 

Federer's withdrawal from the French Open is the second major withdrawal the tournament has seen, after Naomi Osaka pulled her name out of the hat last week.