Sat, Nov 21 2009
Rafael Nadal, the world number one in men's tennis, has announced in a statement posted on his website on November 3 that he would miss the Masters Cup in Shanghai. Nadal cited fatigue as the reason why he was pulling out of the tournament and the time he needed to prepare for the Davis Cup final between Spain and Argentina, scheduled for November 21-23.
Nadal said it was one of the most difficult and painful decisions he has ever made in his professional career.
"It has been a long and difficult year where I managed to obtain great results, both on a professional and on a personal level. I have mentioned in various occasions that the tennis calendar has been extremely hard with practically every single week playing," the statement read.
"This forces us players to put pressure on our bodies, making it impossible for a top level player to be 100 per cent at each event."
His replacement in the draw in Shanghai is Frenchman Gilles Simon. The draw is scheduled for November 5.
Nadal's fierce rival and world nubmer two Roger Federer will taking part in the tournament. In the Spaniard's absence, Federer is the favourite to win his fifth Masters Cup title, having triumphed in the tournament in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007.
Reports in British media have resumed speculating that the Manchester City and Bulgaria winger Martin Petrov is poised to leave the Eastlands en route to White Hart Lane.
Berbatov's brace was his third in four matches against Malta and gave him 48 goals in 74 appearances for the national team.
Dimitar Berbatov is one goal shy of equalling Hristo Bonev's all-time record, set 30 years ago
The left winger sustained yet another injury to his knee, which will keep the player out for at least two weeks.
Bulgaria harboured high aspirations to stage a Formula One race and permanently put the country on the international racing map.