Bengaluru, May 20: Roger Federer's decision of pulling out of the French Open just a few days before the start of the Roland-Garros created a lot of fuss around the world.

However, former world number one Novak Djokovic has stated that it was a very smart decision by the Swiss superstar.

Clay is a slow surface and players need strength more than their technical abilities to thrive out here and Federer had little chances of adding to his 18 Grand Slams in the clay court of France. As per Djokovic, Federer made the right decision for the sake of his career.

Federer, who announced his withdrawal from the May 28-June 11 clay court major on Monday, said he felt he needed to avoid playing on clay this season to help prolong his career.

"You know, he's very smart in his decision-making... He knows what he's doing," 12-times major winner Djokovic told reporters.

"Of course, he's aware he has much better chance to win big trophies on quicker surfaces."

Federer is 35 right now and does not have the same tenacity anymore but his technical abilities can help him big time on quicker surfaces unlike the clay court and according to Serbian Djokovic, it was yet another sign of Federer's exceptional decision-making abilities.

Federer proved that age is just a number by winning the Australian Open in January after a knee injury kept him out of tennis for six months, and followed that up with two more high-profile titles at Indian Wells and Miami.

The 35-year-old, fifth-ranked Swiss is now focused on being in top form for Wimbledon, which begins on July 3 and where he is a seven-time champion.

"Grass obviously is where he feels the most comfortable," Djokovic said.

"I'm not too surprised with this (French Open) decision. I mean, he had a lot of matches played at the beginning of the year, and he did amazingly well."

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