Nadal Withdraws from Australian Open

Rafael Nadal announced he will not play at the Australian Open, further delaying his comeback that has him off the courts since June.

The 26-year-old Spaniard has been forced to withdraw from the Grand Slam event from January 14-27 and the preceding Qatar Open due to a nagging stomach virus.

The same virus kept him from making his return at Abu Dhabi this week.

Nadal said in a statement that "my knee is much better (...) but this virus didn't allow me to practice this past week and therefore I am sorry to announce that I will not play in Doha and the Australian Open."

Nadal has been sidelined with tendinitis in his left knee since a second-round loss to then 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon in June.