Do we lament the absence of the crown prince, or rejoice at the expected return of the king to his rightful throne? Two tennis icons have given conflicting reactions to the withdrawal of Rafael Nadal from Wimbledon. Yet while the words of Serena Williams are probably the more plausible, those of Roger Federer are the more pertinent.

After all, Federer is trying to become the most successful collector of men’s Grand Slam singles titles by reclaiming his cherished Wimbledon crown. He is the player whose progression through the next fortnight to another final would prompt Pete Sampras to ring his Los Angeles travel agent and fly to London to see his record of 14 Grand Slam titles beaten. And Federer knows that Nadal, his greatest rival and biggest threat, no longer poses any danger at this year’s Wimbledon.

Does anyone need to ask whether Williams or Federer was the one who made the following comment on the ramifications of Nadal’s knees being too painful for him to defend his Wimbledon title? “I’m sure there’s a lot of guys on the men’s tour who were probably celebrating and partying.”

Neutrality is one long-term tradition of the Swiss. Monopolising the pinnacle of men’s tennis was another until the middle of last year, and Federer is acutely aware that a sixth Wimbledon title would not only take his Grand Slam tally to 15, erasing Sampras’s name from the record books, it would also reclaim the world No 1 ranking he held unbroken for 237 weeks until he was unseated by Nadal last August.

So there was no mention of celebration, partying or even a little relief when discussing the absence of his nemesis. “It’s unfortunate, and I’m sad for Rafa because it must have been a very difficult decision to make,” insisted Federer in his most diplomatic tone. “Obviously it’s very disappointing for the tournament and also for myself. I’d love to play him. He’s my main rival. We’ve had some wonderful matches over the years, especially the one here last year, which is the one that obviously stands out. So it’s sad we cannot potentially repeat it. It just shows me how lucky I’ve been that I haven’t been injured over all those years.”

Federer is again in fine fettle going into his 40th consecutive Grand Slam tournament — a figure that puts him second among current players to the soon-to- retire French veteran Fabrice Santoro. He is also brimful of self-esteem now that the emotion of that long-overdue French Open title a fortnight ago has calmed to the more manageable levels of elation.

Tomorrow, in the absence of Nadal, he will assume a substitute’s role as he takes the men’s champion’s honour of opening play on Centre Court. Having done the job for the past five years, it won’t be foreign territory, and once again he is the overwhelming favourite. Looking for an ounce of complacency in the Federer mindset is futile. Even though his initial opponent, Taiwan’s Yen-Hsun Lu, was forced to pull out of the French Open midway through his first-round match with a stomach upset and then won only two games in his solitary outing at Queen’s, nothing will be taken for granted.

After pulling out of his traditional grass-court acclimatisation on the German lawns of Halle because the thought of starting another tournament so soon after the tears and triumph of Roland Garros was impossible to contemplate, Federer has been working diligently on the Wimbledon practice courts since Tuesday.

“Initially the focus is on the first round and the first point, but I’m trying to regain my Wimbledon crown,” he maintained. “That stands over trying to beat Pete’s record right now. Once I, hopefully, come down to the semi-finals or final in 10 or 12 days, then probably that’s also going to start creeping into my mind. But right now I’m just looking to win Wimbledon again, which would be a dream come true.”

It is difficult to comprehend that a few months ago many people were writing him off as a spent force among that pack of young wolves — Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. Two clay-court triumphs in Madrid and Paris have rehabilitated his standing, and while the British are getting excited about Murray’s chances, the tennis world at large is again preparing to hail Federer as the greatest of them all.

Federer remains as much in love with Wimbledon as he was when winning the boys’ singles title in 1998. Last week he quietly walked through the seats of Centre Court to get his own perspective on the new retractable roof; he liked what he saw. Doubtless he also took time to reflect on the unforgettable contest that was fought out on the lawn before him 50 weeks ago. With almost a year to formulate his thoughts on that final against Nadal, he revealed: “I was so happy to experience a moment like that with Rafa, and to take our rivalry to such a high level, that it destroyed me less than people think. Playing that final, I was really aware that I was taking part in a magical moment in the history of tennis. I was disappointed for one hour, not more. Life went on.”

Do we take his word for the 60 minutes of disappointment in the same way that we accept his compassion for Nadal’s absence? And do we believe that breaking Sampras’s record sits in the recesses of his mind? Surely questioning the words of Federer at the place where he repeatedly demonstrated his imperious best is tantamount to treason.