Rafa almost certain to be a Wimbledon no-show

Rafael Nadal looks almost certain to skip Wimbledon, with the Spaniard convinced that switching from clay to grass and back again for the Paris Olympics would not be a wise strategy.

The 14-time Roland Garros winner suffered his worst defeat in two decades here as he lost in the first round to fourth seed Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Though it was almost surely his final appearance at the clay court major, the 37-year-old is studying his options of trying to be ready for the Paris Olympic event in late July.

Two seasons of start-stop injuries have taken a toll on the 22-time grand Slam champion who has yet to plot his immediate future.

“It looks difficult, honestly (to play Wimbledon),” he said. “I can’t confirm what’s going on, but for me now (it) looks difficult to make a transition to grass, (then) having the Olympics again on clay.

“I cannot confirm anything, I need to talk with the team. I need to analyse so many facts.”

But deep inside, the Spaniard may have nearly made up his mind.

“I don’t think it’s going to be smart after all the things that happened to my body to make a big transition to a completely different surface and then come back immediately to clay (for the Games).

“I feel that’s not a good idea, but I can’t confirm. I don’t think it’s a positive idea right now.”