Miami Open 2016: Roger Federer withdraws with illness

Roger Federer will not take part in the Miami Open after withdrawing from the event with a stomach illness.

Starting this week, some of the top names in both men’s and women’s tennis are in the Miami suburb of Key Biscayne for the annual Miami Open. Considered by many to be the “fifth major” for the location and the level of talent it brings in, the “Open on the Key” is one of the most watched events in the sport.

This year, it will have one less star on the men’s side as Roger Federer, the third ranked player in the world, is pulling out of the event with an illness:

The Miami Open is the fourth straight event that Roger Federer has missed since losing in the semifinals of the Australian Open to Novak Djokovic. Following the loss, Federer had surgery on a torn meniscus, causing him to miss the Rotterdam Open, the Dubai Championships and the Indian Wells Masters.

Federer hasn’t had much success in South Florida of late. He won the event two straight years in 2004 and 2005 (when it was called the NASDAQ-100 Open) but hasn’t been back to the finals of the event since. Other top ranked stars, including world number ones on both the men’s and women’s sides (Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams), will participate this year with the women’s champ being crowned Saturday, April 2nd and the men’s champ crowned the following day.

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