The second-round loss of Rafael Nadal to Czech Lukas Rosol left Roger Federer feeling that there are still some surprises left in tennis, The Swiss, who is now into the second week at Wimbledon, expressed his sympathy for his longtime rival but said that sport always throws up surprises.
“This is not against Rafa, but it was nice to see it’s still possible,” said Federer, the record-holding 16-time Grand Slam winner. “I think 15 years ago you had matches like this so much more often on the faster surfaces, that a guy could catch fire and just run through you.
“Today it’s virtually impossible because you make so many more returns these days and conditions are so much slower with the elements. It was just amazing to see that it was possible. I was laughing because of his performance for 10 minutes after that. I couldn’t believe that he pulled it off the way he did.”
Federer, who is trying to close a two-year gap between his last title at a major, said that Nadal will likely not be affected. “Of course I do feel bad for Rafa because it’s a tough loss; it’s Wimbledon; it’s the way things happen.
“You figure he was not the overwhelming favorite going into the fifth outdoors, but we have all been unlucky and lucky over the years playing in tough, better, or worse conditions for yourself, they just equal out over the course of your career, really.”
Topics: 10sballs.com, British tennis news, Lukas Rosol, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Sports, Wimbledon 2012
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