Defending champion and world number one Rafael Nadal has been forced to withdraw from next week's Wimbledon Championships because of his on-going knee injuries.
The Spaniard, who was the top seed to defend his crown at the grass-court grand slam event, announced his decision at a press conference in London on Friday evening after succumbing to the problems that have troubled him in recent weeks.
Nadal looked far from his best when losing in straight sets to Australian Lleyton Hewitt, the 2002 Wimbledon champion, in an exhibition match on Thursday -- and his decision ultimately came as no real surprise.
Nadal, who won the opening grand slam of the season in Australia but surprisingly lost to Sweden's Robin Soderling at the French Open, was forced to pull out of last week's traditional Wimbledon warm-up tournament at Queen's Club -- an indication that he was struggling to return to full fitness.
The news means that Nadal is only the fourth player in the professional era to be unable to defend the men's singles title.
Earlier in the day, it was announced that Nadal would have been paired against Arnaud Clement in Monday's Wimbledon first round, but the Frenchman will now play a lucky loser from the qualifying round.
Nadal's injury also boosts British hope Andy Murray's chances of Wimbledon success. Murray won his first grass-court event at Queen's Club and the third seed is now the highest-ranked player in his half of the men's singles draw.
The other half of the draw looks tougher with five-time champion Roger Federer due to face fourth seed Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, as he bids for a record 15th grand slam title. The Swiss maestro will open against Yen-Hsun Lu.