This is not the kind of news I want to hear from Rafael Nadal. The world no.1 player will miss Spain’s Davis Cup final against Argentina because of a knee injury.
The top-ranked Nadal said Monday he was still struggling with tendinitis in his right knee following a week of treatment.
“The knee said no,” the 22-year-old said.
Spain team doctor Angel Ruiz-Cotorro said Nadal would need three to six weeks to recover.“These are very difficult moments, but I have done all that I could to be ready for the final,” he said.
“It was a huge objective, and I’m used to playing with pain, but this is a distinct, new pain that I couldn’t control.”
Nadal’s absence deals a big blow to Spain’s bid for a third Davis Cup title since 2000. Spain captain Emilio Sanchez Vicario has until Tuesday to name his team.
Spain plays Argentina on indoor hard court at Mar del Plata from Nov. 21-23.“We’re sorry for him, but it’s good news. Spain is one thing with Nadal, and another thing without him,” Argentine captain Alberto Mancini told Buenos Aires-based radio station Continental.
Nadal was a key player when Spain beat the United States 4-1 in the semifinals, winning both his singles matches.
Sanchez Vicario most likely will replace Nadal with Tommy Robredo, clay-court specialist Nicolas Almagro or Marcel Granollers. David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco are expected to be back on the team.
Nadal withdrew from the Paris Masters last month with an injury to the same knee after losing the first set of his quarterfinal against Nikolai Davydenko.
He then pulled out of this week’s season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai, China.
“I don’t know if the injury (resulted) from my fight to be No. 1 because in reality, I didn’t play in any extra tournaments, I only played what I had to for the ranking and I don’t think you can reproach me for that,” Nadal said.
“I didn’t do anything crazy to be No. 1.”
Ruiz-Cotorro said the injury was not career threatening, but that it was “totally impossible” for Nadal to be ready in time for the final.“Rafa comes in off a very tough year and his body has been warning him for weeks. It’s an acute injury that needs time to recuperate,” Ruiz-Cotorro said.
“If he played in Argentina, it could become worse.”
Robredo helped Spain to a 5-0 rout of Peru in a first-round match in February, but has reached the quarterfinals of only one of nine tournaments since winning at Bastad in July. The 21st-ranked Robredo has been a Spain regular since 2004.
The 19th-ranked Almagro made his debut against Peru, winning both singles matches, while 56th-ranked Granollers has never been selected.
“Spain has top-level players capable of achieving victory,” said Nadal, who didn’t rule out traveling to South America to support his teammates.
Agustin Calleri and Jose Acasuso will join David Nalbandian and Juan Martin Del Potro for the Argentine team.(Via AP, Image via Yahoo! Sport)
Danai Udomchoke has posted some photos from Astana, Kazakhstan. He is there to represent Thailand in the Asian Hopman Cup.
Thanks to Esther for getting in touch with the media team in Kazakhstan for the latest press release regarding the tournament. Here you go:
A unique team superiority on tennis will be held in November 12 -15 in Astana.
For the first time the Asian qualifying stage of the Hopman Cup where the teams of China, India, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Korea and Kazakhstan will participate, takes place in the capital of Kazakhstan.
The tournament winners will get a chance to play in a draw of the Australian Hopman Cup among 8 best world teams.
Hopman Cup - is a yearly international tennis team tournament, which was found in 1989 and is held in Perth of the Western Australia in the beginning of January (sometimes at the end of December).
The competitions were named in honour of Harry Hopman (12.08.1906-27.12.1985) - one of the greatest tennis players and a famous Australian coach.
For 30 years he guided young talented players to victories on 15 Davis Cups and 21 Challengers rounds.
What the difference of Hopman Cup from other team tennis competitions?
Unlike other major international team tennis tournaments like the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup, which are strictly for men or women only, the Hopman Cup is a mixed competition where male and female players team up together on combined teams.
Each team consists of one male player and one female player. Each match-up between two teams at the championships consists of:
- one women's singles match
- one men's singles match
- one mixed doubles match
In the Asian qualifying stage 6 competing teams will be divided into 2 groups. The winner of each subgroup will play for the pass to Australia.
The honour of their countries will be defended by: Udomchoke Danai and Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thailand), Lu Yen-Hsun and Hsieh Su-Wei(Chinese Taipei), Jun Woong Sun and Chae Kyung Yee (Korea), Li Zhe and Zhou Yimiao (China), Vishnu Vardhan and Shikha Uberoi (India).
The Kazakhstan banner will be carried by our first rackets –Andrey Golubev and Yaroslava Shvedova, who recently has gotten into best hundred tennis players in the WTA ranking.
The Tournament Director: Daniel Chambon
Referee: Andrey Kornilov (Uzbekistan)
(Images via Danai's official website)
Thanks to TennisPunk for inspiring the title of this blog.I've lost count of how many times I've stressed in my blog that the cancellation of Kings of Tennis is based on reliable source: media at Kings of Tennis Sweden, player's statement and also endless investigation from tennis fans including SK Boey and I.
And in the latest email I received from the webmaster at Marat Safin OFFICIAL website, denisem the webmaster confirmed that Marat Safin is NOT COMING to Malaysia for King of Tennis!
From his official website, it seems that Safin is in Miami beach building his tan to match his girlfriend Nastya Osipova!
And for one last time before tomorrow comes, please read the latest update from SK Boey's blog.
Updates:
Click here to read about the event which is now officially cancelled.
Here's what arthur13 has posted in a forum in lonelyplanet.com.
Surprisingly there are no similar press release published in the mainstream media (international or national yet). Also Arthur did not provide source of the article.
Anyway this is what he had posted:
For the first time ever a tournament featuring former world number ones in Tennis is being staged and Penang (press release error, should be Georgetown, Penang is the state) designated as a World Heritage City by UNESCO seems to be the perfect place to hold its first edition. Dubbed as “Kings of Tennis” Big Bang Penang, it is being held from 14th–16th November, 2008 at the scenic Esplanade in Georgetown, Penang.
Be ready to witness a keen battle between Tennis greats like John McEnroe, Marcelo Rios and Pete Sampras from America and captained by Australia’s Roy Emerson and Europe’s Bjorn Borg, Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander, captained by the all time Romanian great, Ilie Nastase. Both teams will have one extra player – battle hardened Jim Courier from America and enigmatic once-upon-a-time big-serving Russian Tennis prodigy, Marat Safin.
Will style and grace of John McEnroe’s volleys triumph over the booming service of Marat Safin or the impeccable serve and volley tennis of Stefan Edberg triumph over strong-serving Pete Sampras, still the holder of maximum numbers of Grand Slam singles titles among men. Definitely a sumptuous fare for all those tennis fans who were either not born or were too young when these greats ruled the courts.
The event is interestingly planned to bring out the drama among these Tennis Hall of Fame players who have enthralled the audiences across the world in the last 4 decades. On the first two days of the event, there will be two singles matches and one doubles match respectively while on the final day there will be four singles matches. This three-day event will be staged on a temporary tennis court with a 13,000 seating capacity (although Sunday Star reported only 5,000 seats). The court and the seating arrangements are almost ready and the overhead spot lights are being tested.
THE 'King of Tennis' showdown in Penang has been sanctioned by the Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia (LTAM). The tournament received the endorsement two weeks ago. There has been rumors of the tournament been cancelled but our reliable sources have confirmed that this unique battle of titans is on and will be held as scheduled.
According to Arthur here's the order of play:
Friday, 14th November, 2008
3.00 pm Gate Opens
5.00 pm M. Wilander vs J. Courier
6.30 pm M. Safin vs M.Rios
8.00 pm S. Edberg/B Bjorg vs P. Sampras/J. McEnroe
Saturday, 15th November, 2008
2.00 pm Gate Opens
4.00 pm M. Safin/M. Wilander vs M. Rios/J. Courier
5.30 pm B. Borg vs J McEnroe
8.00 pm S. Edberg vs P. Sampras
Sunday, 17th November, 2008
1.00 pm Gate Opens
3.00 pm M. Wilander vs J. McEnroe
4.30 pm B. Bjorg vs J. Courier
6.00 pm S. Edberg vs M. Rios
7.30 pm M. Safin vs P. Sampras
Also someone left a comment saying that the stage is beautiful.
I don't know what kind of stage she meant but I can only find a small pathetic picture of the incomplete court covered with a canvas. Anyone from Penang want to send a photo of the newly built stadium to me?
So despite all the confusion and misunderstood created by the media guy at Kings of Tennis based in Sweden, Emerson saying that it's cancelled and the organizer unhappy with the Penang government for being unsupportive, it seems that this event is ready to roll, although there are still doubts about this event.
Hopefully everyone will enjoy the great opportunity to meet the former champs in action in Penang starting this Friday. I hope I can drop by this weekend to witness the event myself (if the event on Friday is on).
Updates
The webmaster of Marat Safin's official website said Safin coming to Malaysia is NOT true. Now I'm really pissed off for those who's responsible to give us false hope!
More Updates:
Click here to read about the event which is now officially cancelled.
Nadal was a key player when Spain beat the United States 4-1 in the semifinals, winning both his singles matches.
