Roger Federer gifted Greek star, Stefanos Tsitsipas a semi-final ticket in the Italian Open after announcing his withdrawal from their scheduled match on Friday, due to an injury on his right leg.
“I am disappointed that I will not be able to compete today. Rome has always been one of my favourite cities to visit and I hope to be back next year”, 37 year-old Federer said.
Tsitsipas will now meet the winner between World number one, Novak Djokovic and Argentine Juan Martin del Potro.
The Swiss, who was making a return to the European clay court season after two years away, won back-to-back matches against Joao Sousa and Borna Coric to reach the quarter-finals on Thursday.
Federer was the second high profile player to withdraw from the tournament, following women’s world number one, Naomi Osaka.
The 21-year-old withdrew because of a “pain in her right hand,” organisers announced.
The Japanese star was due to meet Madrid Open champion and sixth seed Kiki Bertens for a place in the final four in Rome.
Osaka won twice on Thursday after the previous day’s play was rained off, retaining the world number one ranking ahead of Roland Garros.
