Wimbledon darkhorses Radek Stepanek, Ivo Karlovic, Richard Gasquet, David Nalbandian and Mario Ancic all pulled out of the Grand Slam tournament on Thursday.
Karlovic is suffering from an Achilles tendon injury that he hopes will not require surgery, while Mario Ancic is out with a back injury he sustained in Munich. That leaves Ivan Ljubicic as the only Croatian in the men's singles, though he is also dealing with various aches and pains that contributed to an early defeat in 's-Hertogenbosch this week.
The other withdrawals came as something of a surprise. Radek Stepanek, who has been sidelined with illness, suffered a last-minute knee injury. "I had cleared all tests on Monday morning without a single problem and had planned to fly out on Tuesday for Wimbledon preparations," Reuters quotes Stepanek as telling Czech television. "I just wanted to try out a racket and this happened."
David Nalbandian's planned comeback from a hamstring injury is off after he experience some discomfort this week. The Argentine has opted to skip Wimbledon to make sure he is fit for the Davis Cup quarterfinal against Russia in July. "Between Wimbledon and Davis Cup, I prefer Davis Cup," he said.
Richard Gasquet had been expected to play after he was reported to have resumed training this week following his withdrawal from Queen's with a back injury.
Medical tests showed the problem was an inflammation of an intercostal muscle in the ribs, and a rib injury is listed as the reason for the pull out.