Roger Federer announced on Wednesday that he will not be participating in Switzerland's

Former world No. 1 tennis player Roger Federer announced on Wednesday that he will not be participating in Switzerland's Davis Cup match in Kazakhstan this weekend. On his official website, Federer said that he is trying to stay fresh for the rest of the season and that he needs time to relax after "intense weeks" of recent North American competition.

Over the last month and a half, Federer has seen his share of action. In early August, he reached the final at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, and lost in straight sets to Andy Murray. Later that month, he won the Cincinnati Masters with a victory over American Mardy Fish. Federer also reached the semi-final at the U.S. Open, losing a close and intense five-set match to eventual finalist Novak Djokovic.

By skipping the Davis Cup match, Federer is not scheduled to play until the Shanghai Masters, which begins on October 10.

Without Federer, the Swiss team will now be led by Stanislas Wawrinka, who made it to the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open, and lost to Mikhail Youzhny. Switzerland will travel to Astana on Friday for the playoffs against Kazakhstan, to see which country will advance to the world group in the Davis Cup competition next year.

Federer began the year ranked No. 1 and early on, it looked like Federer was ready to dominate, especially after winning the Australian Open in January. But he did not reach the semi-finals at both the French Open in May and Wimbledon in June, losing his No. 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal, who won both titles, as well as the U.S. Open, to takeover Federer’s distinctive lead in the rankings. With his loss at the U.S. Open to Djokovic, Federer dipped to No. 3 in the rankings, with Djokovic moving up to No. 2.