Nadal out injured from Thailand Open

Next week's Thailand Open lost top seed Rafael Nadal as the Spaniard withdrew on Sunday with a continuing knee injury. via Earth Times

[cliffsiders]

I am sure that the tennis fans in Thailand are disappointed, but I am glad that Rafa has decided to continue resting his knee.
From all that I have read, this is absolutely the BEST remedy for the type of injury he has. In the past, I gather that he has played despite injuries, and has perhaps suffered as a result. Maybe this means that those who are advising him have begun to realize that Rafa needs to be careful of his body, and not be so concerned with satisfying sponsors.

[Eliz Kaye]

I'm disappointed that he's not playing in Bangkok but obviously he's doing the right thing. And I hope that Moya manages to beat Djokovic again (they're playing in the 2nd or 3rd round).
If Djokovic wins, there's a greater chance that Nadal will drop in rank by the end of the season which is really too bad since he was number one in ranking points all year til the US Open
I hope that if he does end up being number three that it won't cut into his confidence which is so crucial to him playing his best.
I wonder if its true as cliffsiders writes that he's playing so much to satisfy sponsors. I think he shouldn't have played in Hamburg and that he went there to satisfy the tournament promotors since he dropped out the year before. I hope he cuts that match out of his 2008 schedule.
I don't see him cutting any other clay court events and I hope he doesn't.
Last year, he didn't play between Wimbledon and Montreal and everyone said he was rusty in Montreal because he'd taken too much time off. This year -- between Wimbledon and Montreal -- he played that one match in Stuttgart and people are saying now that he should have taken more time off. Whatever he does it's always going to be a tough call.
It seems to me that the problem is that he gets run down by the clay court season because he plays so many more matches on clay than anyone else. For Nadal, more than for anyone on the tour, fitness is key to his game. It also amps up the intimidation factor which makes winning some matches at least a little bit easier.

[Bobisha]

To your great joy, Novak is not playing in Bangkok. The reason is not his back injury.
I'm looking forward to see him in Wienna!