Roger Federer is accused of avoiding a meeting with Rafael Nadal after retreating from the Rogers Cup 2018. The Swiss tennis mogul has its own reasons.
Since the last two years, Federer is a picky tournament considering his age has reached 36 years. Federer no longer appears in clay season, which is less profitable for him and dominated by Nadal.
On the other hand, Nadal has returned to top form after a difficulty due to injury since 2015. Although stalled in the semi-finals of Wimbledon, the Spanish left-hander successfully won the French Open for the 11th time.
The two players have not met each other since Shanghai Masters 2017. There is hope Federer and Nadal duel each other again in the Rogers Cup, which begins on 6 August. However, the winner of 20 Grand Slam titles is actually backed out.
The tournament will be followed by other top tennis players like Novak Djokovic, defending champion Alex Zverev, Juan Martind del Potro, Marin Cilic, and even Andy Murray, who has been sidelined with injuries. Even so, Federer insists he only wants to protect his physical.
"For me, it's about something more than duel-duel against Nadal: it means health and fun in tennis," Federer told the Daily Express. "My main goal is to win a lot of titles: that's why the numbers and records are number two."
"It feels special to me, personally, to be in the history of my favorite sport." As a boy, I never thought I'd go into a record book, "continued the record-holder of the Grand Slam title.
"My goal at the moment was to be the best player possible, hoping to be on the world's biggest platforms, maybe meet an idol, and yes, lift the trophy but not to reach the numbers."
"That's why my excitement in tennis remains so great because inside me I always tread the earth, I know: this is unnatural, it is not real, but I accept it and I consider it a challenge to defend champions titles or lift some trophies. Federer concluded.