Nadal to discuss Wimbledon after having tests on knees in Barcelona

Nadal having medical tests on knees in Barcelona

BARCELONA, Spain — Rafael Nadal is having his knees checked by doctors and expects to announce his status for Wimbledon in the coming days.

A posting on Nadal’s Web site said the reigning Wimbledon champion is in Barcelona for medical tests Monday and Tuesday. He is expected to make an announcement by Wednesday.

Nadal withdrew from this week’s Wimbledon tuneup at Queen’s Club in London, citing knee trouble. His 31-match winning streak at the French Open ended with a fourth-round loss.

“I have been having some problems in the past months with my knees — that’s no secret — that did not allow me to compete always at 100 percent,” Nadal said Friday, when he pulled out of the Queen’s Club event. “I need to work with my team to recover well, work on my physical condition to be at my top form and get ready for the grass to play at Wimbledon. I hope I can be ready to compete by then.”

Wimbledon starts June 22.

Last year, Nadal beat Roger Federer at the All England Club in the longest men’s championship match in tournament history.

“I was surprised to see him pull out of Queen’s, and now the debate that he might pull out of Wimbledon is quite frightening,” Federer said Monday in Paris, a day after succeeding Nadal as French Open champion. “I don’t like to see it, because you want the best to be playing in the biggest events.”

Speaking before word emerged that Nadal was undergoing tests in Barcelona, Federer also said he expects to see his nemesis at the All England Club.

“It seems like it’s not 100 percent serious, his knee injury. I only wish him the best and I hope it’s not true that he will miss Wimbledon. I think it’s a lot of speculation at the moment,” Federer said. “He wasn’t taping his knees here in Paris. He seemed fine, (from) what I saw, anyway. I’ve played him so many times, I can tell when he’s in pain and when he’s not.”