Rafael Nadal, of Spain, reacts after winning the first set over Denis Shapovalov, of Canada, at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017, in Montreal. (AP)
Wimbledon champion Roger Federer has withdrawn from the Western & Southern Open, which he has won seven times.
Tournament officials announced Federer's withdrawal on Monday, the first full day of matches at the event in Cincinnati.
The 19-time major champion says he ''tweaked'' his back last week at the Rogers Cup, where he lost Sunday to Alexander Zverev in the final.
The Swiss star, No. 3 in the ATP Tour rankings, becomes the fifth of the top six players to skip Cincinnati because of injuries. He joins top-ranked Andy Murray, No. 4 Stan Wawrinka, fifth-ranked Novak Djokovic and sixth-ranked Marin Cilic, the defending champion.
Federer's withdrawal means Rafael Nadal will return to No. 1 when new ATP rankings are released on Aug. 21. The Spaniard will be No. 1 for the first time since July 6, 2014.
Nadal has spent 141 weeks as the men's No. 1 player.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
Short link: