Defending Champ Nadal Withdraws From Wimbledon

Top seed Rafael Nadal will not defend his Wimbledon title, too hobbled by debilitating tendinitis in his knees to mount a credible campaign for the sport's most prestigious title.

Nadal, 23, made his withdrawal official during a news conference at Wimbledon on Friday, just hours after losing a second grass-court exhibition in as many days, this one to Stanislas Wawrinka. The match, from Nadal's perspective, was significant only as a gauge of his fitness on the eve of Wimbledon, which gets underway Monday at the All England Tennis Club.

And the conclusion was inescapable.

"I don't feel 100 percent to play [for] two weeks," Nadal said.

Nadal's withdrawal leaves Wimbledon without the prospect of another installment in the sport's most compelling rivalry. Nadal and Roger Federer had met in the Wimbledon final for the last three years. And they have faced off in the finals of seven of the past 13 Grand Slam events.

"I can't think of any other way to describe it than as a major bummer," said U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe, who will provide Wimbledon commentary for ESPN. "From the standpoint of tennis fans, it's a huge disappointment. The idea of another Nadal-Federer final is pretty intriguing and brings in that casual tennis fan more so than any other matchup in tennis."

Perhaps the only happy soul belonged to Arnaud Clement of France, who had drawn Nadal as his first-round opponent. American Andy Roddick should benefit as well, due to face Nadal in Wimbledon's quarterfinals. Above all, Nadal's absence clears a path for Federer, 27, who enters Wimbledon with a chance to break Pete Sampras's record of 14 major singles titles and reclaim the No. 1 ranking.

Nadal's five-set victory over then-world No. 1 Federer in last year's Wimbledon final was hailed as the greatest in tournament history. With night falling, Nadal snapped Federer's streak of five consecutive Wimbledon crowns and proved what many deemed improbable, if not impossible: that the world's greatest clay-court player could sufficiently re-tool his game to win the sport's most coveted title on grass.

In a matter of weeks, Nadal wrested the world No. 1 ranking from Federer, who had held it a record 237 weeks, and has held it since, despite losing to the Swiss at Madrid in May and seeing his bid for a fifth consecutive French Open title derailed by a fourth-round loss to Robin Soderling on May 31.

After the loss to Soderling, Nadal returned to Spain to see a specialist about his knees. He was diagnosed with tendinitis in both quadriceps and withdrew from the grass-court tune-up tournament at London's Queen's Club, in which most top men compete to fine-tune their games for the quirks of grass.

With his pirate-style garb, indefatigable fighting spirit, muscular build and the thick topspin, Nadal rocketed to prominence after winning his first French Open title in 2005, just days after turning 19.

But though he appears sturdy enough to be a boxer, Nadal is more fragile than his physique suggests -- largely because of the pounding that his punishing style of play exacts on his knees.

While Federer glides around the court, Nadal thunders from sideline to sideline. His chief tactic is wearing his opponents down by returning every ball; he has only begun to learn the art of keeping points short, and thus saving his energy. Instead of aces, irretrievable returns of serves and crisp volleys, Nadal's arsenal is dominated by powerfully-struck, high-bouncing groundstrokes from the baseline.

And it's increasingly clear that Nadal's failure to win the U.S. Open -- the fourth of the four major titles contested each year -- is less a result of the fast-hard-court surface than it is the fact that his body is simply beaten down by the time the calendar gets to September.

On Friday, Nadal dismissed any notion that he's battling a long-term problem.

"It's not chronic problem," Nadal said. "I can recover for sure."