Nadal will miss Australian Open

Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from next month's Australian Open because his recovery from a persistent knee injury has been hampered by a stomach virus.

Nadal has been suffering from tendinitis in his left knee since losing the second round at Wimbledon in June.

"My knee is much better and the rehabilitation process has gone well, as predicted by the doctors, but this virus didn't allow me to practise this past week," Nadal said in a statement.

"Therefore I am sorry to announce that I will not play in Doha and the Australian Open, as we had initially scheduled."

Nadal said it was a difficult decision to pull out of his third consecutive Grand Slam through injury.

"You need your body to be at its best for the Australian Open," he told the Australian Open website."It was a difficult decision and I am extremely disappointed to be missing such a great event."

The Spaniard now hopes to return at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel event in Acapulco which starts on 25 February.

"It hurts to have to wait another 12 months before I get another chance [but] in the meantime, the focus is now on desperately trying to get back on the tour," he said.