Roger Federer explains why he turned down Saudi Arabia exhibition match

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As Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic continue to deliberate whether or not to go ahead with their exhibition match in Saudi Arabia, Roger Federer revealed that he was also asked to play.

Nadal and Djokovic raised a few eyebrows when they announced at the start of October that they would play in the Middle Eastern country on December 22.

A few weeks later and they are under pressure to cancel the trip as the country is at the centre of a political storm following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi embassy in Istanbul.

Both Nadal and Djokovic admitted on Sunday that they are keeping a close eye on things, but are yet to officially withdraw from the event.

Federer, though, told journalists in Paris on Tuesday that he turned down an invitation to play.

“They contacted me too,” the 20-time Grand Slam winner said. “I prefer not to play. I’m happy practising. I’m happy doing other things, and I didn’t want to play there at that time. So, for me, it was a very quick decision.”

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