"Because of the old schedule (two weeks between Paris and Wimbledon as opposed to the current three) we had a week less," the three-time Wimbledon champion said on Monday.
"Usually the Queen's and Halle tournaments were starting the week after Roland Garros, which was a bit challenging obviously coming from the slowest to the fastest surface in sport. It's a big shift, only few days.
"That's one of the reasons why I haven't participated over the years in any lead-up events to Wimbledon.
"This year I knew I wanted to play one, but I thought Queen's and Halle would be too early for me. I wanted to get some rest and get time to properly prepare.
