Tennis Master Cup
he Spaniard pulled out of the Paris Masters last week with a knee injury, and has taken the decision not to compete in the season-ending tournament in order to give himself the best chance of regaining fitness in time for the Davis Cup final in Argentina.
Nadal said in a statement on his official website: "I have decided not to compete on the Masters Cup in Shanghai. As I say this is one of the most difficult decisions in my career due to the importance of the event and above all, due to the fact of not making possible my will to be with the fans in China and the tournament organisers that always treated me in such special way.
"I am deeply saddened and disappointed for my fans around the world that expected to see me in Shanghai fighting in every match. I do expect to be there again in October 09 for the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai."
Nadal's place in Shanghai will be taken by Frenchman Gilles Simon, ranked ninth in the world.
The reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion also reiterated in the statement his feelings that the top players on the ATP Tour are forced to play too many tournaments.
He said: "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 on various occasions that the tennis calendar has been extremely hard with practically all weeks playing and where it forces players to compete week in week out, making it impossible for a top level player to be 100 per cent on each event."
