TENNIS WIMBLEDON CHAMPIONSHIPS: RAFAEL NADAL, the reigning Wimbledon champion, will not defend his All England Club title. The world number one has been forced to pull out of the tournament with tendinitis, becoming only the fourth man in the modern era not to defend his title at the All England Club.
“Not to play Wimbledon is one of the toughest decisions in my career but the decision was made easier because I don’t feel ready to compete at 100 per cent,” said Nadal. “I don’t feel like I’m ready to play in a tournament that is as important as Wimbledon.”
Nadal, who announced his decision at Wimbledon yesterday evening, lost his second exhibition match in consecutive days yesterday, going down 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 10-3 to the number 19 seed Stanislav Wawrinka in the BNP Paribas Fortis Tennis Classic at the Hurlingham Club in Fulham in his final attempt to find his fitness before the fortnight.
“I tried everything,” said Nadal. “I tried hard in the last week to get in the best condition and today was my last test. I didn’t feel terrible but I was not at my best.”
Nadal had been assigned into the same half of the draw as Britain’s Andy Murray but Murray will now replace Roger Federer as the number two seed, with the Swiss player promoted to the number one slot.
The Spaniard won this year’s Australian Open but his knee problems contributed to his failure to defend his French Open title successfully at Roland Garros.
Nadal needs only the US Open title to complete a career grand slam and his decision to pull out of Wimbledon is aimed at giving him enough recuperation time to make a tilt at the title at Flushing Meadows in August.
Nadal will be the first man not to defend his All England Club crown since Croatia’s Goran Ivanisevic skipped the grasscourt grand slam in 2002.
The fans at the aristocratic Hurlingham country club, just a few miles down the road from the scene of Nadals five-set defeat of Roger Federer in the final 12 months ago, marvelled at the dashing Spaniard. But the assembled media only had eyes for Nadal’s knees. Every bend and stretch by Nadal was scrutinised but the Mallorcan gave precious little away with his body language during what was a reasonably strenuous work-out against Olympic doubles champion Wawrinka.
The Mallorcan had grimaced his way through a two-set defeat against Lleyton Hewitt on Thursday yet appeared more relaxed yesterday as he showed few obvious signs of pain from his knees.
It proved to only mask the torment he felt inside.
“I’ve played with some problems in my knees for a few months but I always felt I’d try and try. You don’t know what your limit is . . . but I have now reached the limit.
Nadal, however, dismissed suggestions the injury was career threatening. “It’s not a chronic problem, I can recover for sure.
“I am going to try very hard to come back and when I come back Im going to come back with 100 per cent mentality because when I play now, I was thinking more about the knee.”
“I am 23 years old and I hope to have a long career and come back next year. . . no one is more disappointed than me and the (Wimbledon crowd) must understand I tried my best.”
Defending women’s champion and third seed Venus Williams, who is the favourite to win a sixth women’s singles title at the grasscourt championships, faces Swiss Stefanie Voegele and could line up against world number one Dinara Safina in the semis.
There could be an all-Williams final showdown at Wimbledon for the second year in a row since the American sisters were picked in separate- halves of the draw.
Second seed Serena Williams, the US and Australian Opens holder, will begin against Portuguese qualifier Neuza Silva and could face a quarter-final showdown against 2004 champion Maria Sharapova.
