Federer Withdraws From Madrid Masters

Roger Federer's injury woes continue. In the latest setback to his already complicated season, Federer was forced to withdraw from the Madrid Masters on Monday because of a back injury.

The third-ranked Federer said he was hurt in practice over the weekend and didn't want to take any chances aggravating the injury.

"I would rather play it safe and rest up now," Federer said. "I'm very disappointed, to say the least."

The Swiss player was coming off a knee injury after the Australian Open that sidelined him for about two months. He also withdrew from the Miami Open in March because of a stomach virus.

"It's been a tough year," Federer said. "I hope it gets better from here."

The 35-year-old Federer, a three-time winner in Madrid, had been a late addition to the field this week. The tournament was not originally on his schedule, but the former No. 1 decided to include it as part of his preparation for the French Open in three weeks.

Federer appeared fine in practice Saturday but canceled his media appearance Sunday and had not been back to the courts, raising doubts about his participation.

He said he felt some pain while practicing Saturday and that it hadn't improved significantly since then, so he would not be fit to debut on Wednesday as scheduled.Brian Stuard beat Jamie Lovemark on the second hole of a playoff Monday at the waterlogged Zurich Classic for his first PGA Tour win.