Rafael Nadal out of Shanghai Masters Cup

When Rafael Nadal announced that he was withdrawing from the Masters Cup in Shanghai, the news would not have shocked Andy Murray, as he had already heard locker-room rumours that not all of the world's leading players were planning on flying to the Far East.

But Murray would not have been pleased either, as he had been hoping that all of the elite were going to make it to China for what will be his first appearance at the most exclusive tournament in tennis.

Murray suggested on Monday that the eight-man tournament wouldn't quite feel the same if not everyone made the trip, and now there is a Rafa-shaped hole in the event.

Nadal's absence from the Masters Cup, which begins on Sunday, is because of both general fatigue and, more specifically, the soreness in his right knee that forced him to quit after a set of last Friday's quarter-final of the Paris Masters against Russian Nikolay Davydenko, and it is hardly surprising that the Spaniard's body is feeling the pain after a year that has seen him retain his Roland Garros title, lift Wimbledon's golden Challenge Cup for the first time, win a gold medal at the Olympics, and take the world No 1 ranking away from Roger Federer.

Nadal has played 93 singles matches this season, which is 23 more than Murray, and the Majorcan's game is much more demanding on his body, which is why he takes to the court with strapping below his knees.

Despite all his golden achievements, this has been "a difficult year" for Nadal, who is not alone in believing that the tennis calendar is too long and too busy.

There is only so much tennis that Nadal's body can take, and this felt like a tournament too far for him, especially as he has already made sure of finishing the year with the top ranking, and so his place will instead go to Gilles Simon, the Frenchman who finished ninth in the qualification list.

Still, it is not as if Nadal's absence from China means that his season is over, as he is still expecting to feature in the Davis Cup final against Argentina, which will be played in Mar del Plata later this month. Nadal's decision not to play in China should help Spain's chances of winning the Davis Cup.

Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro has qualified for the Masters Cup for the first time, and so his preparations for the Davis Cup final have been complicated by his involvement in Shanghai; still, for an ambitious 20-year-old, that is not a bad problem to have.

If Argentina's David Nalbandian had beaten France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Sunday's Paris final, he would have qualified for Shanghai, but probably would not have gone so as to save himself for the Davis Cup.

As it was, such a pull-out didn't happen, as Tsonga won, and so qualified himself. Murray, who leaves for China today, will be waiting to hear whether any other players decide against going east.