Federer shocked by Nadal’s pull out from the Olympics

Yes, it’s true, Rafa’s retirement has been a big shock for everybody, even for King Roger that may benefit from it as for the Swiss it is better meeting Rafa at the bar having a coffee than in the semis at the Olympic games!

Wishing all the best to his tennis nemesis, Roger had the impression it was more about Rafa’s preparation. There are still very important tournaments in the season with a very tricky August (Cincinnati, Toronto and the US Open), the Davis Cup semifinal (will Rafa play here?) and the  Asian campaign  (Tokyo, Beijing, and Shanghai) and Rafa can’t afford to risk to get injured and miss these tournaments just because he takes a chance in a tournament that he would struggle to win if he is not 100% fit. 

“It was a big surprise to see Rafa pull out of the Olympics as the defending champion from four years ago,” Federer said.”It is a big blow to the tournament but he must have his reasons. I don’t know if it was his knee or his preparation wasn’t good enough. I thought it was more his preparation and that would mean he is probably close to coming back on tour. He is only missing maybe a week or two here.”

“I’m sure he would have wanted to be here . I wish him a speedy recovery and hopefully we will see him on the tour again soon.” added Roger.

Talking about the thrill of being at the Olympics “It’s exciting for the rest of the field regardless of Rafa is here or not,” Federer reflected. “Novak has a good chance after such a fantastic run over the last year, and Andy Murray has played so well at Wimbledon recently.”