Rafa adds excitement to any tournaments and has faced-off against Roger Federer in the finals the last three years with their most recent championship match widely considered the greatest of all time. But his phenomenal year took a hit at the French Open a few weeks back when he was beaten in the fourth round by Robin Soderling – his first-ever loss in Paris.

After that, we learned that Rafa has knee pain – worse than the tendinitis he has been dealing with for several years. He lost an exhibition match in London today to Lleyton Hewitt a past Wimbledon champion who Nadal usually has has no trouble with.

His uncle and coach, Tony Nadal, said after the loss that his nephew will decide by Friday whether to play Wimbledon where he is the top seed. If he pulls out, it would make Federer an overwhelming favorite to win for the sixth time.