NADAL PULLS OUT OF THE OLYMPICS

Championships, the All England Club had stepped up their campaign to move their big fortnight back one week and yesterday they announced agreement has been secured. So in three years Wimbledon will not begin until June 29 and will end on July 12. It is unquestionably a sensible move in a calendar of more than 10 months to allow greater transition time between the sport’s two most differing surfaces. There were, of course, other considerations, one of which is a desire not to clash so much with the major football championships that occur every other year. The All England would ideally liked to have made the move in 2014 to avoid a clash with the Brazil World Cup, but the knock-on effect for other tournaments is sufficient for more time to be needed to re-arrange the schedule. Among the events that might be affected, hopefully in a positive fashion, are the AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club, which currently take place immediately after the French Open, clashing with the ATP event in Halle, Germany. They may now avoid such a conflict, allowing more top players to be available. This year, for example, Novak Djokovic did not play any official event on grass prior to Wimbledon after his lengthy stay in Paris. OLYMPIC champion Rafael Nadal (below) yesterday revealed his despair at not defending his title in London due to a knee injury. Nadal said: ‘I can’t be selfish. I have to think of Spanish tennis and let a team-mate compete who is better prepared. This is one of the saddest days of my career.’