22 Sep 2009

Nadal out of Thailand tournament

6:52 am on 22 September 2009

The world tennis number two Rafael Nadal has pulled out of next week's Thailand Open as he continues to recover from an abdominal injury.

The 23-year-old Spaniard suffered a heavy defeat by Juan Martin del Potro in his last outing in the US Open semi-finals.

Nadal was hampered by the injury at Flushing Meadows and withdrew from the Spanish squad that beat Israel to reach the Davis Cup final.

An ultrasound found Nadal has an "acute rupture of his right abdominal muscle".