Roger Federer will not play his round of 16 Monday at Roland Garros.

The Swiss withdrew to avoid taking physical risks and to take a step back before Wimbledon.

But Virginie Phulpin believes that we should not blame the player, as she explains in "L'Édito sport" of the morning in Europe 1.

EDITORIAL

Every day, the morning of Europe 1 looks back on one of the sporting events that make the news.

This Monday, Virginie Phulpin looks back on Roger Federer's package leaving Roland Garros on the eve of his round of 16, the day after his late victory against Dominik Koepfer.

But

is this a lack of respect for Roland-Garros? 

According to

our columnist

, it was probably better to see him in good shape at Wimbledon rather than seeing him get injured during the fortnight.

Disappointment

"The first reaction is disappointment, of course. We always want to see one more match from Roger Federer. So if he played the last of his career at Roland Garros on Saturday night in the freezing atmosphere of a central behind closed doors, obviously we have a heartache. It should not end like that. Especially since he won this match after an epic fight of more than 3 and a half hours. "Was to throw in the towel afterwards, what's the point? Then again, I understand that makes some cringe.

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Roger Federer explains that at 40, after operations on both knees and a long absence from the circuit, he is happy to have proved to himself that he could string together three victorious matches, but that he must preserve his body before Wimbledon.

When you're French, that's the kind of sentence that annoys you.

Roland-Garros is not a small training tournament to prepare for the London Grand Slam, please.

So yes, let's be honest, this package does not illustrate the absolute class that Roger Federer has embodied for so many years.  

A choice that lacks class but remains understandable 

If we put ourselves in Roger Federer's shoes, his decision could not be more logical.

He had not come to Roland-Garros to win the tournament, we knew that in advance.

The ultimate goal of his likely last season on the circuit is to shine at Wimbledon, his garden, the temple that made him king.

And if he disdained the French Grand Slam, he could very well have chosen not to come at all, and focused on his preparation on grass.

But he came, probably for his last lap on clay.

And when we have his record, his aura, his champion ego too, we can understand that he would rather end up with a hard-won victory than an almost inevitable defeat on Monday with a body that is no longer moving forward.

See Federer end his career with a Wimbledon win

I'm going to say something very unequal, but I assume. We can forgive Roger Federer for an attitude that we would not accept in others. Precisely because it is Roger Federer, and that he brought so much to tennis that one can accept that he makes choices at the dawn of his 40 years. Even if these are questionable choices. Let us swallow up our pride as French people annoyed by this crime. It's hard, but we can try. I prefer to see Federer end his career with a victory at Wimbledon rather than with an injury and a retirement in the round of 16 at Roland Garros. "