Saturday 24 February 2018 15:50, UK
Roger Federer has decided to attend the Laureus awards ceremony in Monte Carlo rather than take up a wild card invitation to next week's Dubai Championships.
Tournament director Salah Talhak has confirmed Federer, the oldest man to be ranked No 1 in the world, will not feature in the United Arab Emirates event.
Talhak is confident the seven-time champion intends to play the event in 2019, however.
"I understand and I believe whatever's good for him is good for us. You can't really push him more," Talhak told Sport360.
"Had he not won in Rotterdam he would have definitely come here."
Federer has tweeted his intention to travel to Monte Carlo next Tuesday to attend the Laureus awards ceremony where he is again a nominee.
"Excited to be heading to Monaco for the @LaureusSport Awards! Good luck to all the Nominees - see you next week #Laureus18," he tweeted.
Federer cannot lose the world number one spot next week, even if Rafael Nadal wins the ATP 500 in Acapulco.
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