Nadal's Wimbledon withdrawal: A brave forfeit or missed opportunity as Andy Roddick assesses

Rafael Nadal initially entered into Wimbledon but decided against playing at SW19 and it seems now given his retirement complexion that he won't play there again. But in the belief of Andy Roddick, he could've had a run at the grass court major.

Roddick said that he gets why Nadal didn't play given that players have to then switch surfaces to return to clay after playing Roland Garros earlier this Summer. But Roddick says that the Spaniard could've easily have won matches. Albeit the caveat with grass is the movement needed so he sees why also he wouldn't want to put himself at risk.

"He (Nadal) could have won matches and made a run (at Wimbledon) if he chose to play, but I get it. Switching surfaces sucks for the body. All of a sudden, you go from building up reserves on clay, grinding out matches, your bodywork, and all of a sudden you're dealing with lower back issues on grass because you're bending and twisting and that's not of need to him," Roddick said.

"Listen, he made the right decision, but in my mind, I'm going, I have had the thought, I don't know if I fully believe it, but that might be his best bet to win a Slam or get to a last four right now, even including clay. So, based on what his body's capable of doing, the movement, speed, gets a little help on the serve, all the adjustments that he has to make, for his body now, are kind of adjustments that he has to make on grass anyway. I'm just happy we're going to see him again (at the Olympics)."

Rafael Nadal who is a two-time Wimbledon champion spelt out his regret also for not laying the tournament saying that he had to make the tough but sad call due to playing the Olympic Games.

"With this goal (of playing at the Olympics), we believe that the best for my body is not to change surface and keep playing on clay until then. It’s for this reason that I will miss playing at the Championships this year at Wimbledon. I am saddened not to be able to live this year the great atmosphere of that amazing event that will always be in my heart, and be with all the British fans that always gave me great support. I will miss you all," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).