London, June 17 (IANS): Rafael Nadal, winner of 20 Grand Slam title, will skip this year’s Wimbledon and will also not feature in the Tokyo Olympic Games as he wants to rest his body.
The Wimbledon runs from June 28 to July 11 while the Olympic Games begin on July 23.
“Hi all, I have decided not to participate at this year’s Championships at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in Tokyo. It’s never an easy decision to take but after listening to my body and discuss it with my team I understand that it is the right decision,” tweeted 35-year-old Nadal, who is the joint highest winner of Grand Slam titles along with Roger Federer at 20.
Nadal lost to world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the French Open semi-finals recently. It was only his third defeat in 108 matches at the Roland Garros.
Nadal’s pullout gives an opportunity to Federer to go clear on top with 21st Grand Slam titles at his favourite venue though the Swiss has been on the wane in recent times.
Djokovic, a five-time winner at Wimbledon, seems a more serious contender at the SW 19 and will hope to get to 20 career Grand Slam titles and join Federer and Nadal.
