AEGON CHAMPIONSHIP
Venue: Queen's Club, London Dates: 8-14 June 2009 Coverage: Live coverage on BBC1, BBC2, red button, Radio Five Live updates and BBC Sport website. Find complete listings here Defending champion Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the Aegon Championship at Queen's next week with a knee injury. The world number one, and reigning Wimbledon champion, has been advised to rest by doctors. "I've been having problems in the past months with my knees, that's no secret," said the Spaniard. "I need to recover and get ready for Wimbledon." Meanwhile, Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis has been given a wildcard as replacement for the injured Kei Nishikori. Baghdatis, who reached the final of the Australian Open in 2006, also has pedigree on grass, reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon six months later, beating British number one Andy Murray and Lleyton Hewitt on the way. Murray and four-time champions Andy Roddick and Hewitt are set to play at the Queen's Club event which starts on Monday. Despite his withdrawal, Nadal is optimistic he will be fit to defend the Wimbledon title he won in such dramatic fashion against Roger Federer last year. 606: DEBATE This is a bad omen for Wimbledon
agarwalgunner "I am very disappointed to not be able to come this year to Queen's, defend the title I won last year and enjoy playing there in front of the very knowledgeable British crowds," he said. "I need to work with my team to recover my physical condition to be at my top form and get ready for the grass to play at Wimbledon. "I hope I can be ready to compete by then. I am really sorry and I hope that the people at the tournament will still want me to come next year." Nadal's agent Benito Perez-Barbadillo said the Spaniard will continue to monitor his knee but at this stage he is not a doubt for Wimbledon. "I don't think you can call it a risk but obviously he needs to check on the knee and see how it evolves this week and we will know more next week," he said. "It comes and goes, he has decided with his doctors its better to stay at home to keep working on his physical condition. "Hopefully he will be ready for Wimbledon, that is what he has said, hopefully he will be there."
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Rafael Nadal at the 
Rafael Nadal, the 2008 Men's Singles winner at , announced today his withdrawal from the  because of a knee injury caused by his .  The formal announcement came after he had played the second of his warm-up matches.


On Thursday, whilst playing , Nadal had experienced issues with moving about the court.  Again, whilst playing  today, he had problems and lost the match.

He will be the first champion to not defend his Wimbledon championship since  pulled out in 2002.

As a result, fifth seed  takes Nadal's place in the first quarter of the draw, seventeenth seed  takes del Potro's place in the fifth quarter,  becomes the thirty-third seed and takes Blake's place in the fourth quarter, with his own previous spot now filled by lucky loser .

 was quoted on Tuesday (June 16) as saying "Nadal is always a dangerous player because he is the best in the world — but what happened in Paris and then the injury, I am picking Andy Murray or . … For Nadal to win five in a row (at the French Open) was a big goal this year. I am sure he was very, very disappointed when he went home after Paris. That defeat took him many, many days to get over. Nadal is saying he has got an injury, but he has to be fit at Wimbledon if he wants to go all the way, and I do not think he will go all the way this year."