Rafael Nadal has postponed his exhibition against Novak Djokovic in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium due to tendinitis in his knee, the soccer club Real Madrid announced. The Real Madrid Foundation and the Rafa Nadal Foundation had set up the July 14 exhibition, which had hoped to set an attendance record.
Nadal, who was upset by Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon, said he needs to time to rest his knees prior to the Olympic Games in London.
"Doctors have been looking at my knee and tell me that I am suffering from tendinitis in the patellar tendon and I have to spend 15 days resting, which makes it impossible to play with Novak Djokovic as we planned," Nadal said in a statement. "I have started the recovery process in order to be ready for the Olympics in London. I am going combine my recovery with a mini vacation and will return to training in 15 days."
The Spaniard added that he and Djokovic will try and find a new date for the exhibition.