ROGER FEDERER has dismissed talk of a player strike over the length of the calendar as “nonsense”.

Andy Murray raised the possibility of players taking such action following a fractious US Open, while the lack of a decent off-season has again come to the fore at this week’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in particular have struggled to find their best form, with the Spaniard feeling the need to take a long break before the London tournament because of the short turnaround he will have after the Davis Cup final next month.

Murray, meanwhile, pulled out after one match citing a groin injury, with January’s Australian Open at the forefront of his mind.

The players had been due to have a big meeting during the Shanghai Masters last month to discuss their options but Federer and Djokovic were missing through injury, and the urgency of New York appears to have faded. Federer said of a possible strike: “Its not been an option really, in my opinion. Next year’s season is going to be shortened by two weeks. That’s as much as we can squeeze it really because otherwise a lot of tournaments would have to go, or we would have four tournaments the same week.”