"Rafa's absence is a blow to me"

Shortly after announcing that he would not be playing at the Olympic Games, that he would not be able to fulfill his dream of leading the team out carrying the flag, and that he was not in a physical condition to defend the gold medal he won in Beijing, Rafael Nadal wrote a few brief words: "One of the things I feel the most is not being able to play alongside you. Thanks for everything and go for it in London."

Marcel Granollers was the person who received this missive, and who also received a phone call from an audibly upset Nadal and who from that moment assumed the task of leading the doubles team on the grass of Wimbledon. Originally paired with Nadal, Granollers will now team up with doubles specialist Marc López.

Granollers, world number 19 in singles, is much more than just the player who was due to partner Spain's most illustrious player. He is also, for example, able to say that he has seen Nadal picking up trophies while dancing the conga with his compatriots - "It was kid's stuff, everyone in the line, all grabbing onto each other's belts." He also recalls a time when Nadal conspired to thrash a Japanese doubles team because of the country's practice of killing dolphins. Granollers has been with Nadal every step of the way from the outlands of the Futures and Challenger circuits to the pinnacle of the Tour and 11 Grand Slams.

"His absence is a blow to me," says Granollers, who has picked up two doubles titles with López already this season, at Gstaad and the Rome Masters. "That he decided to give up the chance to be the flag-bearer, to not compete because he wasn't fully fit, demonstrates a lot: comradeship, sportsmanship [...] all the values that led to him being chosen for the role. To pull out shows that he is completely unselfish. In my opinion, the mental part is the most impressive thing about Rafa. In that sense he is highly gifted, the best there is in that respect by a long chalk."

It was very importanat to him. He'd earned the right to carry the flag"

Faced once again with the specter of injury - a long-standing knee complaint - Nadal will have to call upon that iron will that one day led his friends and teammates to sport t-shirts with one of his favorite phrases, from the Rambo films: "What is hell for you is paradise for me."

Granollers has ample experience of Nadal's resolve. He has witnessed it from the other side of the net as an opponent and in the Davis Cup team as a comrade. He has played with Nadal in doubles in what would have been a formidable team at the Games.

"It's important that we have known each other for such a long time," says Granollers to explain the basis of a partnership that led to both players winning the junior Davis Cup together. "A close friendship allows you to understand each other and to help each other. We try to make the atmosphere in the team a focused one, but also relaxed, so that our play flows without any tension. When we make mistakes, we try to play them down. 'That shot was shit!' I'll say to him, and he'll say the same. We are confident enough with each other to say what we are feeling. He subscribes to this philosophy and he's happy making jokes about a bad shot."

In spite of the great partnership between Granollers and Nadal, the latter had no choice but to withdraw from the Olympic tournament when it became apparent that he would not be fully fit in time. He required an extra 15 days' rest to recover from the pain in his knee.

After the sailors Iker Martínez and Xabier Fernández declined the chance to carry the flag it has fallen to Nadal's great friend Pau Gasol to do so.

"It's a shame," says Granollers. "It was very important to him. He'd earned the right to be the flag bearer.

The London Olympic 2012 tennis men's singles tournament begins on Saturday July 28. The gold medal and bronze medal matches are scheduled for August 5. The men's doubles tournament starts on July 29.

Selected seeding for the Olympic tennis competitions: Men's singles. Roger Federer (1); David Ferrer (4); Nicolás Almagro (11); Fernando Verdasco (14). Men's doubles. Alexander Bury and Max Mirnyi (1); David Ferrer and Feliciano López (10); Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka (11); Marcel Granollers and Marc López (14). Women's doubles. Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond (1); Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez (11); Venus and Serena Williams (15); Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja (16).