Nadal out of Wimbledon with bad knees

LONDON, June 19 (UPI) -- Rafael Nadal, the top-ranked men's tennis player, has withdrawn from the Wimbledon Championship because of tendinitis in his gimpy knees.

The same problem forced the 2008 Wimbledon winner to pull out of a tournament last week at London's Queen's Club.

"I'm just not 100 percent," he said at London news conference Friday, calling it "the hardest (decision)" of his career.

"I'm better than I was a couple of weeks ago, but I just don't feel ready."

Nadal was the four-time French Open champion two weeks ago when he was beaten by Sweden's Robin Soderling in this year's fourth round, ending his 31-match winning streak on the red clay at Roland Garros.

The Spaniard had been scheduled to meet 2008 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Arnaud Clement of France in a first-round match at Wimbledon next week and had beaten Swiss great Roger Federer in an epic five-set final last year.

Nadal's withdrawal makes Federer, the world's No. 2 ranked men's player, the favorite.