Nadal Withdraws From Bercy and London

Rafael Nadal effectively ended his 2012 season by announcing his withdrawal from both next week's Masters event in Bercy and the upcoming ATP Finals in London due to his ongoing knee injury.

By Erik Gudris

(October 25, 2012) -- Rafael Nadal, who still continues to recover from an ongoing left knee injury, announced today that he has officially withdrawn from next week's BNP Paribas Masters event in Bercy, France and the upcoming Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London that he qualified for earlier this year.

"It’s disappointing for me to miss the last two tournaments of the season in Paris and London, but it doesn't come as a surprise," Nadal said in his statement. "I will hopefully resume my tennis practice soon since I am making good progress with my recovery from injury. I am not ready to compete in time for these events so I will continue my recovery in Mallorca and work hard to be back as soon as possible."

The former world No. 1 has not played a match since losing to Lukas Rosol in the second round of Wimbledon this summer. Nadal's injury forced him to withdraw from both the Olympic Games and the U.S. Open.

With his withdrawal from London, it now opens the door for those still chasing the final three remaining berths in the eight player event. Juan Martin del Potro and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga now are almost certain to qualify while Janko Tipsarevic, Nicolas Almagro, and Richard Gasquet have the best chances to grab the final eighth spot with all three men scheduled to compete at next week's ATP Masters 1000 event in Bercy.

(File Photo: Rafael Nadal at 2012 Wimbledon; Credit: Getty Images)