Rafael Nadal, as powerful a figure as there is in men's tennis, was forced yesterday to abandon his cherished ambition of leading Spain to Davis Cup glory because of the intensity of the ATP Tour. Nadal, 22, whose rippling biceps and phenomenal all-round strength, have enabled him to rise to the top of his profession, overtaking the long-standing world No 1 Roger Federer earlier this year, is suffering from a tendinitis in his right knee. Nadal blamed his injury on an overloaded tennis calendar. "It is difficult - I did everything to try to make this final," he said. "After a long and very positive season, it pains me to miss the two main objectives of the year, Shanghai and the Davis Cup final. "This was a new and different pain I cannot control." If the rigours of competing at the very top of the modern game are proving too much for Nadal, they are bound to be affecting lesser mortals and tour administrators are concerned about the number of fitness problems affecting their leading players. Nadal had already made one difficult decision last week, to withdraw from the Masters Cup in Shanghai with a view to conserving energy for the Davis Cup final against Argentina. Now he has been forced to make a second and declare himself unavailable for the team event in Buenos Aires from Nov 21-23. The tendinitis is a bigger problem than the fatigue he is suffering from and may take up to six weeks to heal. If that proves to be the case then he will be a doubt for the new exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi from Jan 1-3 for which he has star billing alongside five other big names. His withdrawal comes as a massive blow to Spain, who would have started strong favourites to win the trophy with him in their team - the Argentines demonstrated how much they respect him by choosing to play the match on hard court rather than their own favourite surface of clay on which Nadal is supreme. However, the world No 1 does not believe his absence should spell the end of his nation's hopes. "My team have the ability to win without me. Spain have top-quality players, they are going to have my support," he added.
wjohnson@thenational.ae
