Rafael Nadal: I thought Roger Federer would play at Roland Garros
Rafael Nadal admits he was surprised by Roger Federer’s decision to skip the French Open.
Federer has decided to copy the recipe that worked for him last year as he will once again not play any clay-court tournaments this campaign in order to keep himself fresh for the grass-court season and, more in particular, Wimbledon.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner has come in for some stick over his decision to pick and choose his tournaments with Madrid Open owner Ion Tiriac saying “I do not think his approach is fair“.
Nadal was asked about his rival’s absence not only in Monte Carlo, but also the French Open and he replied: “I don’t care. He takes his decisions.”
The Spaniard then added: “He said a couple of days ago [before he made the announcement] that he would love to play against me again on clay over the best of five sets, so I thought he would play Roland Garros. Then a few days later he says he will not play, so there’s a little bit of controversy with that.”
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