(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Just today, defending Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal has announced that he will not be defending his Wimbledon title.
The 23-year old sixtime grand slam champion and Olympic gold medalist had a great 2008 and beginning of 2009.
In 2008, Nadal won the French Open, Wimbledon, and the Olympic singles title. Nadal also was a semifinalist for the 2008 US Open.
To open 2009, Nadal joined a very short list of open era players that have won a grand slam on every surface by winning the 2009 Australian open. This list includes the likes of Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, and now Nadal.
After the Australian Open, Rafael Nadal has been struggling. His legs which have always been a cornerstone of his game are now becoming his worst enemy.
Rafael Nadal lost to Roger Federer in the Madrid Masters final on clay, the surface that made him. Rafael Nadal losing on clay is a rarity considering his 179-16 ATP record on clay, including just five losses since 2005.
The loss in Madrid wasn’t a complete shock because he has lost on clay in master’s series events once before in 2007 to Roger Federer in Hamburg and last year to Juan Carlos Ferrero in Rome.
Next came the shocking 2009 French Open. Nadal since 2005 had captured the title four times in a row, equalling Bjorn Borg’s record and looking like the most dominate clay courter ever.
To many tennis fans' dismay or delight, Nadal lost in the fourth round to Robin Soderling. Soderling went on to lose the finals.
Nadal losing and Djokovic being ousted from the tournament really opened the door for Roger Federer, who has been chasing the French Open since the start of his career.
Federer put Soderling away in straight sets and captured the elusive French Open championship completing his career Grand Slam and tying Pete Sampras' record of 14 career slam victories.
After the French Nadal pulled out of his usual Queen’s grass court tournament as a warm-up to Wimbledon, citing the pain he has been having in his knees the last few months as the main reason.
Now the two-time Wimbledon finalist and current champion will not be present at the start of next week to defend his title.
On the bright side, Nadal is reportedly suffering from tendinitis. Tendinitis, although painful, is not a major knee injury that requires surgery. Nothing in the knee is broken.
However, tendinitis is a chronic condition and something that, although curable, is difficult to get rid of with out a lifestyle change.
Nadal relies heavily on his fitness and ability to run to win his matches, which is hard on the body. Nadal has a warrior spirit, and I am sure with the right amount of time and rehab he will be back up to par.
Federer’s chances of winning his sixth Wimbledon title and beating Pete Sampras’ 14 slam title record are greater then ever.
Nadal has been in the final against Federer at Wimbledon over the last three years. Nadal put an end to Federer’s win streak last year in a marathon five-setter that was dubbed as one of the greatest matches of all time.
There is no doubt that Nadal has been Federer’s greatest competition, and one can only hope that this year’s Wimbledon will be as exciting as last year’s was.
Federer is a great champion of the game, and if anyone deserves to win and break the slam record it is Roger Federer.
Not only does Federer have a chance at beating Sampras’ record, but he also has a chance to really close in on Rafael Nadal’s No. 1 ranking.
Every athlete has their peaks and valleys through out their career. In fact, it was around this time last year that people were beginning to wonder if Federer was reaching the end of his career. Look at where Roger Federer is now, back on top of cloud nine.
Here’s to wishing Nadal a safe and speedy recovery, and to a great Wimbledon tournament in which records can be broken.
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