Rafael Nadal’s Wimbledon participation is still in the balance after the Spaniard struggled during an exhibition match against Lleyton Hewitt.
Nadal, who crashed out of the French Open to Robin Soderling, has been struggling with the same knee injury which has troubled him before in his career. Nadal withdrew from the AEGON Classic at Queen’s Club in a attempt to be fit for SW19, and has since been working around the clock in order to get his body in the right condition to defend his Wimbledon crown.
Things did not look good however in an exhibition match against Aussie Hewitt, where the Spaniard went down tamely 6-4 6-3. Throughout the match it seemed as if the usually energetic Nadal was jaded, and clearly hampered by his injury. At one point his coach reportedly told him to ‘bend down and pick up the ball’, to which Nadal replied ‘I can’t’.
Rafael Nadal will decide whether to compete at the All England Club on Friday after a second exhibition match against Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka. If the reigning Wimbledon Champion wins the match, and comes through unscathed, it is likely that he will aim to defend his title, at the moment however, things are still well and truly in the balance. The No.1 seed is currently 7/2 with Bet 365 to triumph once again on Centre Court this year.