Disappointing news for tennis fans and bettors on WagerWeb.com as there won’t be a repeat of that incredible Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer match from last year’s final at Wimbledon because the top-ranked Nadal has withdrawn from this year’s tournament with a knee injury.
That makes Federer the betting favorite on WagerWeb.com as he goes for a record 15th Grand Slam title. Federer beat Nadal in the 2006 and 2007 Wimbledon finals and has won five crowns at the All England Club.
Nadal will be the first reigning Wimbledon men’s champion to not defend the title since Goran Ivanisevic in 2002 — and only the second in the last 35 years. The grass-court Grand Slam tournament begins Monday. “I’m just not 100 percent,” the No. 1-ranked Nadal said during a news conference at the All England Club.
“I’m better than I was a couple of weeks ago, but I just don’t feel ready. … Not to play Wimbledon is one of the toughest decisions in my career.”
Nadal had been assigned to the same half of the draw as Great Britain’s Andy Murray, but Murray will now replace Federer as the No. 2 seed, with Federer promoted to the No. 1 slot. Murray is also the second betting favorite on WagerWeb.com.
Nadal has been bothered by his knee for months. He missed the Davis Cup final in December because of tendinitis, but that decision off when he won the Australian Open title at the start of this year. He recently was knocked out of the French Open in the fourth round. That was Nadal’s first-ever loss at Roland Garros. Nadal has played two exhibitions in the past two days and lost both. One of those came against 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt — and, coincidentally, Friday’s draw set those two up for a second-round meeting.
Former Aussie Open runner-up and former Wimbledon semifinalist Marcos Baghdatis also announced his withdrawal on Friday, citing a knee injury.
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