Federer withdraws from Paris event

World number three Roger Federer has apologised after he made the decision to pull out of this week’s Paris Masters. Federer, playing in his 22nd season on the ATP Tour, clinched his 103rd career title on Sunday with a thumping 6-2 6-2 win over Australian Alex de Minaur in the Swiss Indoors Championship. The 38-year-old’s victory was a record-extending 10th in Basel and he was due to feature in this week’s Paris Masters, an event he won back in 2011 when overcoming Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final. However, the 20-time Grand Slam champion is eager to preserve his stay on tour for as long as he can and, with next month’s ATP Finals in London just around the corner, he has chosen to skip the Paris trip. “I am extremely disappointed to have to pull out,” he was quoted as saying by BBC Sport. “I want to play as long as possible on the Tour. I’m sorry for my French fans who I’ll see at Roland Garros in 2020.” Federer has already qualified for the season-ending event in London, which he won in 2011 for the sixth time.