Roger Federer to have knee surgery, will miss four months, including the French Open in May-june.
Roger Federer will miss the French Open and no fewer than three other tournaments while he is sidelined for at least four months after having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
It’s only the second operation for the 38-year-old Federer — the other was on his left knee in 2016 — and one that is certain to raise questions about his future in tennis.
He posted on social media Thursday that his knee had been an issue “for a little while.”
“I hoped it would go away,” he said.
The man who has spent more weeks ranked No. 1 than any other and owns a men’s-record 20 Grand Slam titles said the operation was in his home country of Switzerland on Wednesday. He currently is ranked No. 3 behind rivals Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
“After the procedure, the doctors confirmed that it was the right thing to have done and are very confident of a full recovery,” Federer wrote.
Now Federer, who for years has faced questions about how much longer he’ll compete, will miss upcoming hard-court tournaments in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Indian Wells; and Miami, along with what was supposed to be a rescheduled exhibition match in Bogota, Colombia, that was canceled in November because of rioting there.
He also is going to sit out Roland Garros, the next Grand Slam tournament, which begins May 24.
Federer closed Thursday’s message by saying: “see you on the grass!”
More tennis
Top-seeded Simona Halep came from a set down for the second day in a row to beat Aryna Sabalenka 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 and reach the semifinals at the Dubai Championships. Halep will next face Amerian qualifier Jennifer Brady, who upset former No. 1 Garbine Muguruza 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 to reach her third career WTA semifinal.
• Top-seeded Daniil Medvedev overcame a poor start to beat Jannik Sinner 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 and reach the Open 13 quarterfinals at Marseille, France.
• The deadline to enter the 131st Annual Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship is Sunday. The tournament, which will feature top collegiate and independent doubles teams, will be played March 6-8 at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club. Entry information is available at USTA.COM.
Local colleges
The No. 18 UC San Diego women’s basketball team (21-4, 17-3 CCAA), behind a career 20 points by Brianna Claros, secured a 59-46 victory over Cal State East Bay (16-9, 12-7) on the road.
• The fourth-ranked (Division II) UCSD men’s basketball team (25-1, 19-1) captured its third California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) regular season title thanks to a 62-55 victory over host Cal State East Bay (14-11, 10-9). The win was the Tritons’ 17th straight.
• San Diego State’s Maggie Balint struck out 13 in 82⁄3 innings, including nine in a 3-2 win over Notre Dame (7-3) in the nightcap to salvage a split on the first day of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic at Big League Dreams Complex in Cathedral City. Earlier, the Aztecs (10-4) lost 2-1 to Idaho State.
• Erica Martinsen hit a 3pointer with less than 5 seconds left to give the USD women’s basketball team (17-98, 11-4 WCC) a 61-58 victory at San Francisco (9-18, 2-13).
Soccer
Paul Arriola, who damaged his right ACL in a friendly last weekend and will be sidelined several months, returned to Washington on Thursday and will see a team doctor today to determine a plan for surgery and recovery, the Washington Post reported. It remains unclear whether the Chula Vista native will miss the entire season, as well as the start of the U.S. national team’s World Cup qualifying schedule late in the summer.
• Former U.S. national team goalkeeper Hope Solo is among the first-time eligible players on the ballot for the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame. Solo, dismissed from the team following the 2016 Olympics, joins fellow U.S. national team members Brad Davis, Whitney Engen, Herculez Gomez and Clarence Goodson among 14 first-time eligible players on the 42-person ballot.
• Mikel Arteta marked his first European game as Arsenal manager with a 1-0 victory at Olympiakos in the first leg of their round-of-32 meeting in the Europa League. Manchester United was held to a 1-1 draw at Club Brugge while Inter Milan had an easier time at Ludogorets in Bulgaria, with Christian Eriksen scoring his first goal for the Italian club in a 2-0 win.
Also
Dan Radakovich, who starred as a linebacker at Penn State in the 1950s before winning two Super Bowls as an assistant with the Steelers in the 1970s, died. Radakovich was 84.
• According to the L.A. Times, Santa Anita had a seventh horse die during the winter meeting while training or racing when Unveiled suffered a fracture to his right front leg while galloping, considered a low-risk training exercise, during morning training. The 4-year-old colt was trained by John Shirreffs, who according to the California Horse Racing Board, has not had a fatality since it started compiling trainer statistics a year-and-a half ago. The CHRB said the fatal injury was in the shoulder while Santa Anita said it was in the humerous, the long bone in the leg.