Federer laments Nadal's absence
WIMBLEDON
Date: 22 June - 5 July
Coverage: BBC One, BBC Two, BBC HD, Red Button, website streaming (UK only) and text commentary, 5 Live, 5 Live Sports Extra, BBC iPlay
Roger Federer says he is disappointed that Rafael Nadal's withdrawal from Wimbledon denies them the chance to meet in this year's final.
Nadal, who beat Federer last year to claim his first Wimbledon triumph, pulled out on Friday with tendinitis.
"I'd love to play him. He's my main rival," said Federer, who opens against Yen-Hsun Lu on Centre Court on Monday.
"We've had some wonderful matches over the years, including last year, so that we can't repeat that is obviously sad."
Third-seed Andy Murray will begin his campaign to become the first British winner of the men's singles since Fred Perry in 1936 on Tuesday, but he is refusing to get carried away with Nadal's absence from his half of the draw.
He said: "It's very easy to say, 'Oh, Rafa's not playing, so I've got a much easier route to the final'. I don't view it like that at all.
"You just focus on each match at a time, the first one, and try and win one best-of-five set match every couple of days and not get ahead of yourself.
"I wasn't thinking about playing Rafa at all. If that opportunity came, then I'd obviously look forward to it any time I play him. It's a great challenge.
"I'm sure everyone would have liked to have seen him here. I enjoy watching him play. He's my favourite player to watch, so I'm sure the fans that wanted to come to see him will all be disappointed. But he's got to do what's best for him."
Federer, the world number two, admitted he had a feeling Nadal would withdraw after a brief chat with the Spaniard on Wednesday.
"We had a 10 second chat. He congratulated me for Paris and I asked him how his knee was. He was like, 'it's okay'. So I kind of knew it wasn't great, because he's very honest to me. So I knew that something could be coming up.
"I heard he was going to have a press conference on Friday and I guess I was slightly prepared that he wouldn't play, so then it doesn't come as such a big surprise.
"But I'm sad for him, because it must have been a very difficult decision to make."
The Swiss player, who beat Robin Soderling to win his first French Open earlier this month insists that despite Nadal's absence, he will go into the tournament in a relaxed mood.
If Federer wins his sixth Wimbledon title, he will reclaim the world number one ranking from Nadal but if he loses early and Murray doesn't, he could lose his number two ranking to the Briton.
"I don't feel like I have extra pressure now having to win the tournament," he said.
"There's a lot of weight off my shoulders since Paris. So I'm entering tournaments a little bit more relaxed these days."
