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PixieSnowBunny
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 Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 1:26 pm Post subject: Nadal to miss Wimbledon? |
 
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| Quote: | World number one Rafael Nadal will decide on Friday whether to defend his Wimbledon men's singles crown.
The Spaniard, plagued by knee problems, struggled with his movement during an exhibition match in London on Thursday in a 6-4 6-3 loss to Lleyton Hewitt.
Nadal said the match was a "real test" but has delayed his decision until after another practice game on Friday.
"I will come back and play again and then make my decision about playing at Wimbledon or not," he said.
Nadal will face Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka on Friday at about 1430 BST at the Hurlingham Club, following which he is scheduled to hold a press conference.
But his participation at Wimbledon, which starts on Monday, is looking increasingly doubtful.
"He is having difficulties bending and it seems his treatments aren't enough," said coach and uncle Toni Nadal.
"I don't know [if he will defend his title], we have to wait for Friday."
Nadal was forced to withdraw from last week's tournament at Queen's Club with knee trouble and underwent intense rehabilitation in Barcelona.
He was diagnosed with tendinitis in both quadricep tendons as well as a small amount of fluid on the kneecaps.
But the 23-year-old looked to be on the mend after practising with Andy Murray at the All England Club on Wednesday.
However, the following day the Spaniard seemed troubled throughout his one hour 20 minute encounter with Hewitt at London's Hurlingham Club.
In Nadal's first match since losing to Robin Soderling in the fourth round of the French Open, the four-times French Open champion looked increasingly frustrated as he repeatedly failed to get to balls he would normally reach.
Hewitt challenged Nadal from the start, forcing him to save two break points in the first game before holding serve.
The Australian then managed to break to love for a 3-2 lead after three unforced errors from Nadal, and held his next service game to love behind a barrage of aces.
Nadal frequently muttered to himself in Spanish after missing shots, and often had to rely on his top-spin forehand to bail him out of trouble.
Nadal and Murray practise together
He had his first break point in the first game of the second set, but Hewitt saved it with a service winner.
Nadal set up another break point at 2-2 with a good forehand volley, but Hewitt produced a forehand winner down the line before holding.
Hewitt broke again for a decisive 4-3 lead after Nadal sent a forehand long, and the Australian converted his second match point after Nadal sent a lunging backhand long as well.
Nadal, who beat Roger Federer in a classic final in 2008, has already said he will not defend his Wimbledon crown if he is not 100%.
And five-time champion Bjorn Borg has raised doubts over Nadal's ability to retain his Wimbledon title.
"Nadal is always a dangerous player because he is the best in the world - but what happened in Paris and then the injury, I am picking Andy Murray or Roger Federer," said the Swede.
"For Nadal to win five in a row (at the French Open) was a big goal this year. I am sure he was very, very disappointed when he went home after Paris.
"That defeat took him many, many days to get over. Nadal is saying he has got an injury, but he has to be fit at Wimbledon if he wants to go all the way, and I do not think he will go all the way this year." |
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urbangirluk
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| Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 10:46 pm Post subject: |
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It will be a shame if he does miss it, he's a good player, and not bad looking either  However, on the other hand, it will give the other players a chance to go further in the competition, and not to put a curse on things, but maybe let Andy Murray get to the final and win  |
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Shar
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| Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 12:40 am Post subject: |
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I really wish Nadal would be fit because at least then 'if' Andy Murray won then at least no-body would say it was because Nadal wasn't fit to play. We have to remember Andy has beaten both Nadal and Federal plenty of times now in major tournaments. 
He's no3 in the world. Thats says it all. |
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PixieSnowBunny
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| Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 12:46 pm Post subject: |
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Well, it's official. He's not going to be there. It is a shame that he can't show up to defend his title but it does give other players a chance to get further than they might have done.
| Quote: | I do not feel ready to compete - Nadal
World number one Rafael Nadal will not defend his Wimbledon men's singles crown because of a knee injury.
Nadal, struggling with tendinitis, tested out his fitness in exhibition matches on Thursday and Friday, but was unhappy with the state of his knee.
"Not to play Wimbledon is one of the toughest decisions in my career," said the 23-year-old Mallorcan.
In Nadal's absence, second seed Roger Federer will open play on Centre Court on Monday against Yen-Hsun Lu.
Nadal is the first champion not to defend his SW19 crown since Goran Ivanisevic missed the event in 2002.
"I've played with some problems in my knees for a few months but I always felt I'd try and try," added Nadal. "You don't know what your limit is, but I have now reached the limit."
But the world number one insisted the tendinitis was not career threatening.
"It's not a chronic problem, I can recover for sure," said Nadal. "I'm going to try very hard to come back and when I come back I'm going to come back with 100% mentality because when I play now, I was thinking more about the knee.
"I'm 23 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."
Nadal, the four-time French Open champion, had been drawn to play Arnaud Clement at Wimbledon on Monday.
The Mallorcan was forced to withdraw from last week's tournament at Queen's Club with knee trouble and underwent intense rehabilitation in Barcelona.
He was diagnosed with tendinitis in both quadriceps tendons as well as a small amount of fluid on the kneecaps.
The 23-year-old looked to be on the mend after practising with Andy Murray at the All England Club on Wednesday, but the following day the Spaniard seemed troubled throughout his 80-minute exhibition encounter with Lleyton Hewitt, losing in two sets to the Australian.
Nadal was determined not to concede defeat in his fight to be ready for Wimbledon and played a second exhibition match at Hurlingham against Stanislas Wawrinka on Friday.
But two hours after losing to Olympic doubles champion Wawrinka, Nadal made public his decision to pull out of Wimbledon.
"I didn't feel terrible but I was not at my best," said Nadal, referring to his fitness levels against Wawrinka.
Nadal, who beat Roger Federer in a classic final in 2008, had previously stated he would not defend his Wimbledon crown if he was not 100% fit. |
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urbangirluk
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| Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 9:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Shar wrote: | I really wish Nadal would be fit because at least then 'if' Andy Murray won then at least no-body would say it was because Nadal wasn't fit to play. We have to remember Andy has beaten both Nadal and Federal plenty of times now in major tournaments.
He's no3 in the world. Thats says it all. |
Good point
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