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| November 15, 2005 | Tuesday | Shawwal 12, 1426 |
Agassi and Nadal withdraw from Masters Cup
SHANGHAI, Nov 14: Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi pulled out of the season-ending Masters Cup on Monday, casting a cloud over wins by Gaston Gaudio and Nikolay Davydenko. World number two Nadal withdrew before his opening group match against Gaudio with an ankle injury while a wincing Agassi was beaten 6-4 6-2 by Davydenko before calling it quits.
The withdrawals were a massive blow to organisers of the $4.45 million Shanghai event following pre-tournament casualties Andy Roddick, Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt.
Gaudio beat Nadal’s replacement Mariano Puerta 6-3 7-5 to join Russian Davydenko at the top of the Gold Group.
But with French Open champion Nadal and eight-times grand slam winner Agassi out of the frame, world number one Roger Federer’s path to a third straight Masters title opened up.
The Swiss won his opening match against Argentina’s David Nalbandian on Sunday though he is still recovering from an ankle injury of his own.
“It’s just not possible for me to be on court,” said a dejected Agassi, who was playing his first match since losing to Federer in the U.S. Open final two months ago.
“It doesn’t do anybody any good for me to be out there, except my opponents. The most important thing is it’s healthy for next year because this year’s over with.”
Agassi will be replaced in the Gold Group by Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez.
Australian Open champion Safin gave up his place in the eight-man field last month as he continued to struggle with a knee injury.
The Russian was quickly joined on the sidelines by world number three Roddick who was suffering lower back spasms.
Twice-champion Hewitt cited personal reasons for his withdrawal — his wife is expecting a baby — but he has also been recovering from a groin strain and toe surgery.
Nineteen-year-old Nadal sprained his ankle in winning the Madrid Masters final against Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic in October and sat out the final two weeks of the season with sore knees.
“After Madrid I didn’t practice for one week and the next week I was playing one hour...then stopping, not moving,” said the Spaniard.
“I came here with that pain. I was very excited to play in my first Masters so for sure I’m very disappointed.”
Argentina has profited most from the spate of big-name withdrawals from Shanghai with Gaudio, Nalbandian and Guillermo Coria all drafted in before Puerta’s promotion.—Agencies
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