The Swiss star then chose to miss the grass-court event in Halle which he has won before each of his Wimbledon victories, prompting speculation that his efforts at Roland Garros had really taken a toll.

Not that Roddick, beaten in the Wimbledon final by Federer in 2004 and 2005, was about to come over all concerned.

“I think the one thing that we’re not privy to, and you guys can read as much into it as you want, was how his body was feeling after that match (against Nadal),” Roddick said.

“If he’s beat up, he’s not going to go out there and risk an injury at Halle. I’m sure in a perfect world he would have wanted to prepare there. Obviously he’s been successful doing that.

“I promise you, he’s one of the most mentally strong guys we’ve ever seen. I’m not going to throw a pity party for him, I promise you!”

Roddick has played Federer 14 times on all surfaces, winning just once and losing all three of their contests on grass, so it is hard to see him upsetting the odds this time.

“It’s disappointing,” added the former world number one, who had a sneak preview of Centre Court, without its roof, a few weeks ago.

“I’ve run into him in the latter stages (of tournaments) a bunch. I know I’m going to get questions about it after every single match, at every single press conference. But I can’t do anything about it until we get to that point.

“I’ve said it before. I just want to keep giving myself that opportunity. In order for me to be successful here, I have to beat him one time, and that’s kind of the way you look at it.

“What are you going to do? You wake up, you work hard, you go after it again. That’s what I’m going to keep doing.”

After back to back finals, Roddick was surprisingly beaten in the third round last year, losing in straight sets to Britain’s Andy Murray.

It is an experience the 24-year-old is keen to forget, and the number three seed believes he is playing as well as ever following his fourth Artois Championships title at Queen’s last week, despite some indifferent performances.

“It feels good to be back here and it feels good to be back here feeling like you’re playing good tennis,” he added. “Last year was pretty forgettable for me. I felt like I was kind of limping in. This year has a little bit of a different feeling.

“At Queen’s I felt like I fought off a couple of guys who were playing their best tennis. There’s something to be said for that. I felt like I did what I wanted to do. I got a bunch of matches in. I got some great match preparation as far as being in tough situations, getting out of tough situations, coming from behind.

“I definitely got better as the week went on. I felt like I served well, returned well.

“I feel like a good player again when I step onto the grass courts! There’s a certain sense of excitement, anxiousness. I got over here really early. I had to guard against getting too fired up the first couple days in practice because there was still a long time before I was even going to play a match.”