Rafael Nadal withdraws from U.S. Open

MASON, Ohio -- Basically, everybody who is anybody in tennis comes to this Cincinnati suburb for the last big U.S. Open tuneup, so the absence of perennial Grand Slam contender Rafael Nadal -- following withdrawals from two previous events -- already had hinted at Wednesday's announcement by Nadal that he is skipping the Open to contend with knee tendinitis.

"You felt," top-ranked American Mardy Fish said, "if he wasn't able to come at least here -- a lot of guys took Toronto off, but to at least come here -- maybe he's in trouble."

Since his startling second-round loss at Wimbledon to 100th-ranked Czech Lukas Rosol on June 28, Nadal has pulled out of a planned exhibition against reigning Open champ Novak Djokovic and passed on the London Olympics, successive hard-court tournaments in Toronto and here.

He recently described problems with his left knee as "not the same" as past chronic discomfort in both knees -- which caused him to forego Wimbledon in 2009, the first man in 35 years who didn't attempt to defend his title there. After he dropped the Olympics from his schedule, Nadal's uncle Toni, who has coached Nadal his entire career, said ominously that "Rafael has gone through bad times and serious injury, but I think this is the worst moment of all."

Djokovic, who lost to Nadal in the 2010 Open final then reversed the result last year, said that "tennis is going to lose a little bit because of Rafa not being there, because he's somebody that has made history in this sport and we all know how good he is and how popular he is."

Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, who won the 2009 U.S. Open title, called Nadal's absence "a very sad moment for him, for sure." Earlier in the week, Federer said he "thought for sure we would see Rafa in Toronto, but now he missed Toronto and Cincinnati. It came as a big surprise to me, these two pullouts. Even the Olympics. So I'm sad for him."

Andy Murray expressed "disappointment for him, as a friend. And for tennis and major competitions, it's a huge benefit when you have the top players playing, so it's tough."

Still only 26, Nadal already has 11 major tournament titles and is only the seventh man to win every Grand Slam event. Before Djokovic stormed to four championships in five majors from early 2011 to January's Australian Open, Nadal had tennis followers considering whether he could challenge Federer's record of Grand Slam titles (now at 17).

Concurrently, though, there has been almost constant talk of how Nadal's hard-driving physical game, based on relentless running, might be punishing Nadal as much as it hurts his opponents. "I really don't know what the injury is and how serious it is, but, obviously, it's serious that it takes him out of the tour the last couple of months," Djokovic said.

Del Potro, at least, expected a quick recovery. "Everybody knows Rafa," he said. "He's a big fighter. He will be with us very, very soon, and he could be dangerous for us when he comes back."