Rafael Nadal pulls out of Wimbledon

The Spaniard,who has been struggling with tendinitis in his knees since being knocked out of the French Open last month,tested his fitness in two exhibition matches this week but after losing both decided not to defend his Wimbledon title just three days before the start of the major.

He will be the first man not to defend his All England Club crown since Croatia8217;s Goran Ivanisevic skipped the grasscourt grand slam in 2002.

8220;Not to play Wimbledon is one of the toughest decisions in my career but the decision was made easier because I don8217;t feel ready to compete at 100 percent for two weeks,8221; said Nadal.

8220;I don8217;t feel like I8217;m ready to play in a tournament that is as important as Wimbledon so I have decided I cannot play this year.

8220;I was making an effort to play week after week 8230; but I have two oedema swelling of the knee joint,one in each knee8230; and now I8217;m going to be out.. I don8217;t know what time,how long.

8220;I tried everything,I tried hard in the last week to get in the best condition and today was my last test,8221; added the world number one,who tried to play through the pain in an exhibition match against Stanislas Wawrinka.

8220;I didn8217;t feel terrible but I was not at my best.8221;

Strenuous Workout

Just two hours before announcing that the world8217;s most famous tournament will have to make do without its top seed and champion,Nadal made a last-ditch effort to see if he could rescue his Wimbledon hopes.

The fans at the aristocratic Hurlingham country club,just a few miles down the road from the scene of Nadal8217;s astonishing 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 Nadal8217;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 workout against Olympic doubles champion Wawrinka.

The Mallorcan had grimaced his way through a two-set defeat against Lleyton Hewitt the previous day yet appeared more relaxed on Friday as he showed few obvious signs of pain from his knees.

It proved to only mask the torment he felt inside.

8220;I8217;ve played with some problems in my knees for a few months but I always felt I8217;d try and try. You don8217;t know what your limit is 8230; but I have now reached the limit.8221;

Nadal,however,dismissed suggestions the injury was career threatening.

8220;It8217;s not a chronic problem,I can recover for sure.

8220;I8217;m going to work very hard to come back as soon as possible,and when I came back I want to come back 100 percent mentality and physical fit to win,because the problem right now is when I8217;m playing I8217;m thinking more about the knees then about the game,so that is very difficult to play.8221;

8220;I am 23 years old and I hope to have a long career and come back next year8230; no one is more disappointed than me and the Wimbledon crowd must understand I tried my best.8221;

Nadal8217;s withdrawal means Britain8217;s world number three Andy Murray is the highest seed left in that half of the draw.