A Withdrawal from Roger Federer....Maybe at the right time....

Roger Federer announced yesterday that he will not be participating in the Stockholm Open which starts next Monday.

"2008 has been a tough year for me as I was always playing catch up after being diagnosed with mononucleosis at the beginning of the year. I feel fortunate to be healthy again, but I want to remain at the top of the game for many more years to come and go after the No. 1 ranking again."

He added, "In order to do that, I need to get a proper rest and get strong again so that I am 100 percent fit for the remainder of the year or next year. At this point, I am not sure when I will be ready to play again, but I hope to be back at some point before the end of the year.

He concluded, "I apologize to the tennis fans in Sweden as I was looking forward to playing in Stockholm again. The country has produced so many incredible tennis players and the tournament has such a great history. I hope to be able to come back at some point in the future."

I can't deny my disappointment, I was actually waiting to see Roger in action again, not just for the mere pleasure of watching every move, every exquisite play and joyful win, and not only to gain some more points to take us a step closer to the No. 1 rank we lost back this year, but also I wanted a good preparation before the Madrid and Paris Masters because a win there is what really counts, a masters title is what's written in History books....

The withdrawal itself isn't as much trouble as his statement actually...I don't know if he meant it or not but for Roger to say, "At this point, I am not sure when I will be ready to play again, but I hope to be back at some point before the end of the year."

This is totally new for me to hear from Roger who always seemed to me like a person with planned steps, it actually terrifies me that he doesn't know when he will be back.

I mean he could have simply said, "I will pick up at Madrid," but he didn't...which made thoughts play in my mind like a little boy messing with his toys, that maybe he had or developed an injury that we don't know of.

I am sure everything is fine and I will convince myself with the tired excuse till otherwise  proven, actually reviewing what happened this year and putting myself in Roger's shoes, those wonderful Nike shoes that i absolutely adore..,haha.

If you put yourself in Roger's place and just imagine:
You woke up one day diagnosed with a terrible disease called Mononucleosis, a wicked disease that sucks the energy out of your body and yet you have a major tournament in which you are the defending champion and everyone is expecting you to win!

You, as a champion, don't withdraw as people around advise you, and get into the tournament reaching the semifinal with just half your power! And then, a series of defeats follows from unexpected players at surprising early rounds takes places during which no body suffers but you and the ruthless media is on your back criticizing and writing you off, saying your era has ended...Poor you!

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?