World No.1 Federer to skip Dubai Championships

New world number one Roger Federer will not participate in next week's Dubai Championships, the tournament director has confirmed.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion decided to opt out of the event in order to attend an award ceremony in Monte Carlo.

"I have been in touch with his (Federer's) agent and the last time we spoke he informed me that Federer would rather spend some quality time at home with his wife and kids than make the trip to Dubai," the Daily Express quoted tournament director Salah Talhak, as saying.

He added, "He also said that this decision from the World No. 1 has nothing to do with Dubai, but it's simply because he doesn't want to take any chances during the build-up to his defence of the two titles in Indian Wells and Miami. In fact he has conveyed his willingness to come and play in Dubai next year."

It should be noted that Federer has won the tournament seven times, which accounts to the most number of Dubai Championships title lifted by any player.

Earlier, the Swiss had also tweeted about his visit to Monte Carlo on Tuesday to attend the Laureus awards ceremony, where he is once again a nominee.

The 36-year-old won the Rotterdam Open title last week to become the oldest world number one in tennis.