Right after withdrawing his participation from Rolex Paris Masters 2019, Roger Federer also withdrew from ATP Cup 2020 in Australia, he will begin his Australian Summer at the Melbourne major. However, a string of exhibition events is incorporated in his schedule during the months of November and December in South America and China.

Federer expounded the reasons behind his decision withdrawal from ATP Cup and clearly the Swiss maestro prioritizes the South American exhibition matches over the ATP Cup in Australia.

“When we had to sign up for the ATP Cup it was shortly after Wimbledon, for me it was always logical to play the first week,” said Roger Federer. “The South America exhibition tour was already long in scheduling, something I’d wanted to do for a long time. I couldn’t do it because of my knee, because of my children, couldn’t do it the year after or two years after because it was going to be too much.”

Earlier Federer stated ‘family reasons’ to be the cause of his withdrawal from the ATP Cup. With Federer stepping down, Switzerland has pulled out from ATP Cup 2020 as Stan Wawrinka is also not playing the event.

“South America was a priority for me. ATP Cup too to play the first week. Then when I realized Stan wasn’t gonging to play, the family wasn’t going to travel to Sydney, I’d rather stay at home with the family. Train easy and make priority Australian Open and the World Tour Finals,” the 38-year-old added.

His exhibition tour continues after the Australian Open 2020 as he is scheduled to play a match against his greatest rivalry, Rafael Nadal in South Africa. “Got the dream match with Rafa on February 7, I’ve been trying to get a date with Rafa for last two or three years. That was always going to be a priority for me as well. Something had to give, that was the ATP Cup. I just felt I was going to be very happy to play but it wasn’t that level of importance for me,” the Swiss maestro elaborated.

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“That was that. Normally I don’t take these kinds of decisions like this but I kind of got into that situation having to take a decision after Wimbledon. And it was also a little bit connected – I know you might take this as a joke, but it’s not – to announcing Olympics,” he continued.

“My family was always going to travel with me to Japan. With my wife, we try to come up with a really good schedule for the kids. In the end, we weren’t ready to do. We wanted to be in the same place for a long time. I don’t think it’s contradictory at all,” said Federer.

After his expedition in China, World Number three, Federer will fly back to Dubai, train and pull up his socks for the Australian Open 2020.