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Nadal ordered to rest

07/07/2008

Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal has been forced to withdraw from this week's Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart with a knee injury.

Nadal received treatment on his knee during Sunday's breathtaking men's final against Roger Federer, after originally sustaining the injury during his third round victory over Mikhail Youzhny.

The 22-year-old has now been ordered by doctors to rest for fear of aggravating the injury further.

"My doctors have said I need a couple of days rest. I will now get examined for an exact diagnosis," said Nadal, who had travelled to Germany to explain his situation to the tournament's organisers.

"I only want to return to the court once I am 100 per cent fit. I have to recover."

Meanwhile Sunday's final between Nadal and Federer – the longest men's final in Wimbledon history – was watched by a peak audience of 13.1 million viewers on BB1. The figure represented a 47.6% share of the TV audience.

The all-time record audience for a Wimbledon final remains Bjorn Borg's win against John McEnroe in 1980, which was watched by 17.3 million people.

Andy Murray's match against Richard Gasquet achieved the second-highest viewing figure of this year's Championships, drawing 10.5 million viewers on June 30th.