French tennis pro Richard Gasquet knows exactly how many would feel once Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal call it quits.
Federer and Nadal, two of the most decorated tennis players in the Open Era, have suffered major blows to their respective campaigns this season, forcing them to be sidelined from the tennis scene. The 34-year-old Federer skipped the French Open due to back injury, while the 29-year-old Nadal cited a left wrist injury that forced him to retire hurt prior to his third round match at Roland Garros.
While there are no definite indications any of the setbacks suffered by Federer and Nadal would immediately be the cause of their retirement, many ponder on the idea both players' careers are coming to an end. In fact, fans, and even fellow tennis players, already see how tennis would look like without Federer and Nadal competing.
"It's going to hurt once Federer and Nadal leave. Hurt a lot," Gasquet told L'Equipe as translated by Tennis World USA.
Prior to an ailing back that halted his 65-consecutive Grand Slam appearances, Federer underwent a knee surgery, which repaired a left meniscal tear sustained a day after losing against Novak Djokovic in the semifinal round of the Australian Open. The 17-time Grand Slam winner successfully made it back to competition, although he was hardly the same player he was during the before the major setback.
Federer revealed he is progressing well and is getting "better than expected" ahead of his next competition in Stuttgart at the Mercedes Cup, which signals the start of the grass-court season and the road to Wimbledon.
Meanwhile, Nadal has a more uncertain future ahead of him and the uncertainty of his injury makes the situation more concerning for the Spaniard.
Nadal, a nine-time French Open champ, has fully participated on the clay-courts of Stade Roland Garros in Paris since 2005 prior to his latest setback. There is not much to know about the severity of Nadal's left wrist injury, but it is worth noting the Mallorcan admitted he "would have preferred" if the stumbling block piled up in last year's regretful season.
Retirement talks have certainly popped out to some tennis fans, but there is a growing sense Nadal would still be back competing in tournaments, although it is a matter when. According to Mike Dickson of the Mail, Nadal's injury would surely put the world No. 5 in doubt for Wimbledon, which is scheduled on June 29, and would probably put him on the sidelines for three months.
"We're going to work hard to be ready for Wimbledon. For the moment I need a couple of weeks with the immobilisation then we're going to do the treatment," Nadal said. "We expect to recover quickly, to be ready for Wimbledon, but it's not a moment to talk about that."
Nadal was almost back in his old form after winning back-to-back titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. He displayed strong performances in other clay-court tournaments and made him one of the top favorites to conquer Roland Garros, which was strongly the belief of several tennis pundits and fans until Nadal hit a brick wall.
Surely Federer and Nadal will do all kinds of measures to bounce back from their injuries better and stronger as what they have been doing whenever such setbacks appear. However, there is no denying that time is not on their side as they continue to miss opportunities to cap off their careers on the highest note possible.