Roger Federer has withdrawn from this week's Madrid Open due to a back injury incurred in practice over the weekend.
Federer already missed several tournaments at the start of the year after undergoing knee surgery after the Australian Open.
He was reported to have said that he is now intending to prepare for the Rome Masters, which begins on Sunday May 8.
Federer was due to play either Nicolas Mahut or Joao Sousa in the second round in Madrid after a first-round bye.
He will now be replaced by a lucky loser.
"I don't want to take more chances as I know I'm not going to be fully ready for Wednesday," he said. "I would rather play it safe and rest up now and get ready for Rome. I'm sorry to the tournament for coming and leaving without playing.
"I arrived and I was okay and then I practised on Saturday and hurt my back a little bit and stopped early. I'm very disappointed to say the least.
"I changed my schedule around and practised well in Switzerland before coming here."
However, he said he was not worried about his preparations for this month's French Open.
"I've been doing a lot of practice on clay. I don't always need a lot of matches to feel 100 per cent ready. With my experience and the way I feel about big tournaments, if I have matches, great. If I don't, I trust in my game, in my mind that I'll be fine regardless of the preparations."
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