Rafael Nadal announced on Friday, after his 3 set loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the Hurlingham exhibitions, that he will not be participating in the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, where he is the defending champion. Nadal's knee tendinitis didn't let up after his 2 week layoff, but choosing to play in the exhibitons probably didn't help. Nadal will join Gael Monfils, who withdrew with a wrist injury, as the top players to pull out. Rafa lost his 4th round match in Roland Garros to Robin Soderling and afterward announced that his knee problems had been troubling him for months. In the Spaniard's press conference today, Nadal said, “I’m just not 100 percent I’m better than I was a couple of weeks ago but I just don’t feel ready.” The withdrawal will put the world number 1's ranking in serious danger. If Roger Federer wins the year's 3rd Grand Slam, the Swiss will regain the number 1 ranking that Nadal took from him last August. “I think I reached the limit right now. I need to reset to come back stronger,” Nadal said. Thankfully for tennis, Nadal's injury is not permanent. “It’s not chronic. I can recover for sure.” All the best to Rafa for a speedy recovery.
No comments:
Post a Comment