Federer surrenders world No. 1 ranking post pulling out of Paris Masters due to injury

Washington: Tennis ace Roger Federer has surrendered his world No. 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic after the 15-time major winner confirmed that he is pulling out of the Paris Masters because of an injury.

Federer endured a painful defeat to Juan Martin Del Potro at the Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel on Sunday, a match that lasted a grueling two hours and 45 minutes. And after his marathon match, he confirmed he would skip the Paris Masters in order to focus on the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London that start in early November, CNN reports. According to the report, the decision means he will lose the rankings points he accrued from three tournaments last year, and will be unable to overhaul Djokovic even if he wins his third straight World Tour Finals crown. "It`s just too much. I was trying to make up my mind and I had some niggles I didn`t want to take a chance on. I don`t want to take a chance for London,” Federer was quoted as saying on the official Paris Masters website after defeat in his home town. “I feel very disappointed as I had one of the best weeks of my life there last year, but this is just a last-minute decision,” he added. It comes after the Swiss ace had earlier said that he was seeking to continue his bid to end the year with his world No. 1 ranking intact for the first time since 2009. Djokovic enjoyed a 53-week stay at the top of the rankings after his record-breaking 2011 until Federer regained top spot after taking his seventh Wimbledon title back in July. ANI