Roger Federer will lose his world number one spot after defeat at the Miami Open - and has announced he will miss the clay court season, including the French Open.
The 36-year-old, who suffered a shock 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4) loss to world number 175 Thanasi Kokkinakis in Miami on Saturday, did not play on clay last season either.
Last year, he won Wimbledon after returning from his break.
The Swiss will be replaced by Rafael Nadal at the top of the new rankings, according to a BBC report Sunday.
On losing his world number one position, Federer - the defending Miami champion - said: "I deserve it after this match. I feel so bad."
After the defeat, he added: "I decided not to play the clay season."
Federer, who won his 20th Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January, began in typically assured style but was worn down by Australian qualifier Kokkinakis, 21, who won in two hours 21 minutes.
It was Federer's second loss in six days - he saw a 17-match unbeaten run come to an end in a gruelling match with Juan Martin del Potro in Indian Wells last weekend.
In Miami, he was up against another angular opponent in Kokkinakis, who used a vicious top-spin forehand to devastating effect.
"It felt like every time I had chances, something bad happened - wrong decision making by me, good decisions from him," he said.
"It's disappointing, I don't know why I could never get to a level I was happy with."
