Nadal Withdraws From Wimbledon

Rafael Nadal after his epic win over Roger Federer in last year's Wimbledon final; which will unfortunately not be replicated this year after Nadal withdrew from the tournament, which starts Monday at the All-England Club. (Photo courtesy of New York Times)

What has gone down as quite possibly the greatest match in the history of professional tennis will see its already-robust legend increase over the coming weeks, as, sadly, there will not be an encore.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal withdrew from Wimbledon yesterday, citing tendinitis in his knees, a condition that first arose during his surprising round of 16 loss to Robin Soderling at last month's French Open. Soderling eventually made it to the finals, where he lost in straight sets to Roger Federer.

"I'm just not 100 percent," said the 23-year-old Spaniard, who is the No. 1 player in the world. "I didn't feel terrible, but not close to my best."

With Nadal out of the picture, the door is suddenly open for Federer not only to win his sixth Wimbledon title and record 15th Grand Slam, but also to reclaim the No. 1 ranking Nadal took from him last August. Federer had spent a record 237 consecutive weeks at the top of the rankings before being unseated by Nadal. Scotland's Andy Murray, who was seeded third before Nadal's withdrawal, will likely become the No. 2 in the men's draw.