Giving reasons of fatigue due to his knee injury as the reason for the surprising action, the world's number one tennis star Rafael Nadal has decided to withdraw himself from the Tennis Masters Cup. The athlete stated that the decision is a very difficult one for him to make, not only because of the sheer magnitude of the event but also because he is disappointing his fans in China as well as the organizers of the tournament, who have given so much to him in the past. He will be using the time to recuperate before the Davis Cup Final in Spain.

The decision came midway during his match, competing against Russian star Nikolay Davydenko in the Paris Masters. Nadal, who is 22 years old, is a five time major tennis champion, holding reigning victory in Wimbledon, French Open and the Olympics. He has surpassed even the master Roger Federer in the ATP rankings and is the year end number one for 2008. He has a long time rivalry with Roger Federer, and finally surpassed him for the World No. 1 ranking in August of this year.

In Shanghai, the eight player Master Cup is going to be held, with Frenchman Gilles Simon taking Nadal's place. Roger Federer, who holds the US open championship title and is the Wimbledon and French Open's runner up, will also be playing in this tournament. The other players will be Aussie Novak Djokovic, U.S. Andy Murray, Davydenko, Andy Roddick, AussieJo-Wilfried Tsonga, Juan Martin del Potro, and Frenchman Gilles Simon. Roger Federer is the current reigning champion of the Masters cup tournament, having won the last two tournaments consecutively as well as having attended the last four. That said, a recent back injury may remove Federer from the tournament as well, and then it would be anybody's game.

Rafael Nadal originally began to pursue the game of tennis at the age of 12, in 1996. It wasn't until 2002 that he was able to win his first ATP match, and he was the ninth to do so before he turned 16. 2003 brought Nadal two different Challenger titles and placed in the top 50. In 2004, Nadal first stood across from Roger Federer on the court, winning in straight sets, but then had to miss most of the remainder of the season due to an unexpected ankle injury. From September, Nadal possesses a 77-9 win-lose record and is the victor of eight straight singles tournaments. He also achieved his career best, 32 game winning streak. Over his career, Nadal made it to championship finals 46 times, securing 31 wins since 2004. Stepping away from the upcoming tournament may cause a stir with Nadal's rivalry against Federer, but because Federer may also be stepping back from play this season, it could be anybody's game.

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