Anyone like Tennis?

Have you any idea how Nadal is getting on after his early departure from Wimbledon?

Federer lost today at his "own open"

Federer must have thought he could get in a good number of matches by playing against these weakened fields, maybe bagging a title or two along the way to boost his confidence. These tournaments would be a low-stakes environment to fiddle with his new stick, and the two weeks wouldn’t tax him physically because clay is easier on the body.

That sounded OK in theory — I say “OK” instead of “good” because the schedule shuffle is still a mild head-scratcher to me — but a few matches into his Hamburg campaign, Federer clearly was dealing with a back injury and, as is his wont, he played through it without much complaint. After losing to Federico Delbonis in the Hamburg semifinals, where he played with visible kinesio tape on his lower back, Federer should have shut it down and pulled out of Gstaad. But Federer probably didn’t feel like he could let down the tournament, and chose to honor his commitment to the small Swiss event (and he was rewarded with a cow). That’s an honorable and gentlemanly thing to do, but it wasn’t the best decision as an athlete who’s trying to break out of a slump.
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