Jo-Wilfried Tsonga announced he will not be playing in US Open, which starts later this month, as he is still being hampered by knee injury that affected him at Wimbledon.
The world number eight was forced to retire when 2-1 down in sets to Ernests Gulbis in the second round at Wimbledon and, at the time, said he hoped to be fit for the final Grand Slam of the year, which begins on August 26.
The Frenchman has been receiving treatment and recovering slowly since his Wimbledon exit but the Flushing Meadows event comes too soon for him.
Tsonga, in a post on his official website. said: “Today I have to take care of me and make sure I can play 100%. The thinking is simple. The doctors told me that it would be at least two months for my tendon to partially heal and five months to be completely healed.
“Two months takes me to the US Open. It would be stupid to go there knowing full well that I have no chance because I’m not prepared enough.”
The 28-year-old, whose best perfomance in the four big tournaments came in 2008 when he got to the Australian Open final, has identified the ATP World Tour tournament in Metz, which gets underway on September 16, as his potential comeback date.
He added: “I still have one month. It will come soon, but I am optimistic.”
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