French Open 2016: Gael Monfils pulls out due to viral infection

Gael Monfils

Paris, May 20 (IANS) World No.14 Gael Monfils will not participate in the French Open tennis tournament because of a viral infection that led to his hospitalisation, his agent announced on Friday.

Monfils, 29, who reached the semi-finals in Paris in 2008 and passed to the quarter-finals in three other editions, was hospitalised in recent days and is weakened by the illness, said his agent, reports Efe.

It is the second time the Frenchman has missed the tournament after 2012, when he did not play because of a knee injury.

Roger Federer, World No.3, announced on Thursday he will also miss the French Open due to physical problems.