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Roger Federer says he will absolutely miss seeing Rafael Nadal compete at this year's French Open. Nadal, a record 14-time French Open champion, announced he would not play at Roland Garros this year after failing to recover from an injury sustained to his psoas muscle.
Federer, one of Nadal's biggest rivals, took part in a Q&A session with fans on Twitter. "Will you miss Rafa Nadal at the French Open?" a fan asked Federer. Federer replied: "Yes I will miss seeing him play. French Open + @RafaelNadal = one of the most incredible records in history of all sports."
yes I will miss seeing him play.
French Open + @RafaelNadal = one of the most incredible records in history of all sports. https://t.co/Nt7coSK61B — Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 23, 2023
Federer sad over the Nadal French Open absence
When Nadal sustained the injury in Australia, the doctors told him he would be ready to play again in six to eight weeks.
But then, Nadal experienced several setbacks in his recovery, which prompted him to miss way more than initially expected. Last week in Manacor, Nadal said there was no point in going to the French Open without feeling that he could play his best tennis and ultimately win the title.
"I was working as much as possible every single day for the last four months. It has been very difficult months because we were not able to find the solution to the problem that I had in Australia. Today I'm still in a position that I am not able to feel myself ready to compete at the standards that I need to be [at] to play a Roland-Garros.
I am not the guy that is going to be at Roland-Garros and just try to be there and put myself in a position that I don't like to be [in]. My ambition is to try to enjoy next year, which will probably be my last year in professional competition.
My motivation is to try to say goodbye to all the important tournaments. 2024 will probably be my last year. I'm not going to set a return date before that. It could be reaching the Davis Cup at the end of 2023," Nadal explained last week.
