Rafael Nadal insists that his knee injury was not an excuse for his shock second-round defeat at Wimbledon last year.
The 2008 and 2010 SW19 champion was knocked out by world No100 Lukas Rosol in a five-set thriller last June in what was to be Nadal’s final appearance of 2012 due to tendonitis in his knee.
But the 27-year-old world No5, who heads to the All England club once again as the French Open champion, concedes that he probably would have lost to Rosol even if he was fully fit.
“That’s tennis and that’s the sport,” said Nadal at his pre-tournament news conference at Wimbledon. “That’s the good thing about the sport: sometimes you lose, sometimes you win.
“Last year I played here because it’s a tournament that I love – but I was not ready to play. That’s the reality.
“After Roland Garros I felt that my knee was not there any more. After here I was not able to complete in any tournament for the rest of the season.
“I try my best. I don’t have anything to learn about that year because is not an excuse.
“Rosol played a fantastic fifth set [and would] probably have beaten me if I was fully fit.
“That’s tennis and that’s the sport. You lose, you win – that’s part of the game.
“But that experience for me last year was too much. I suffered too much. If you are in the final rounds and if you have to protect or play with an injury, it’s fine. But playing with an injury from the first day is impossible.”