World number one Rafael Nadal has officially withdrawn from the Asian swing after a consultation with a doctor in Barcelona.
The Spaniard suffered a knee injury during his US Open semi-final with Juan Martin Del Potro where he had to retire from the match.
After a consultation with a doctor in Barcelona, Nadal learned that he needs more time to rest his knee and therefore will miss the tournaments in Beijing and Shanghai.
The Roland Garros champion is currently defending 1,100 points from those two tournaments and his latest withdrawal gives the opportunity for Novak Djokovic to aim for the year end world number one.
In a statement in Spanish on twitter, Nadal said the following, “Hello Everyone, as you know I had to withdraw from the semi-finals of the US Open and on Monday I was in Barcelona with doctors to check the situation of my knee,” Nadal claimed.
“The annoyances on my knee are nothing new. We have decided with my medical and technical team not to participate in the Asian tour to recover the knee the way we have always done.”
The 32 year old finished his statement by apologising to the fans and tournament directors of Beijing and Shanghai for not attending this year’s event, “I’m sorry I can’t be with all the fans in China and with the organisers of the Beijing and Shanghai tournaments.”
The withdrawal of Nadal means should Novak Djokovic win the Shanghai masters in a few weeks time then he will be in pole position to end the year as world number one.
As for Nadal his frustrating knee injury continues and he will be hopeful to return in Basel in October. The Spaniard is one of three players also to already qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals in London in November as he joins Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for the ATP’s season finale.
