Nadal ruled out of Davis Cup final
Rafael Nadal played major part in helping Spain reach the Davis Cup final
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Monday, 10, Nov 2008 08:30
World number one Rafael Nadal has been forced to withdraw from representing Spain in the Davis Cup final due to a knee injury.
The 22-year-old retired hurt from his quarter-final match against Kikolay Davydenko at the Paris Masters at the end of last month and also withdrew from the season ending Masters Cup in Shanghai – in the hope of being fit for the Davis Cup final.
But his hopes of leading his country into battle against Argentina have been dashed as he has failed to recover from tendinitis in his knee.
"I don't feel ready to focus on a final like this and for that reason I'm not going to be there, much to my regret," said Nadal.
"The decision wasn't easy but I have to accept the medical recommendation. I'm used to playing with pain but this is different, something new. I haven't been able to control it. I tried some light training but the knee didn't respond well. I don't feel too good.
"These are difficult decisions to make for an individual player. It's even more difficult when you're playing doubles and more difficult still when you talk about the Davis Cup team."
Nadal was an inspirational figure in Spain's 4-1 semi-final win over USA, winning both his singles matches. But Spain team captain Emilio Sanchez will now have do without the services of his number one player, who he is expected to replace with either Tommy Robredo or Nicolas Almagro.