Nadal pulls out of Mercedes Cup with hand injury

BERLIN, July 14 (Reuters) French Open champion Rafael Nadal has pulled out of next week's Mercedes Cup ATP claycourt event in Stuttgart with an injury to his left hand, tournament organisers said today.

The world number two's manager, Carlos Costa, told organisers that Nadal had failed to recover from the hand problem, which had troubled him during his run to the Wimbledon final on Sunday where he lost to Roger Federer.

Nadal, 20, will be replaced in the draw by German Denis Gremelmayr.

With Nadal's withdrawal, former French Open champion Gaston Gaudio of Argentina is now the top seed for the 0,000 tournament in south-western Germany.

REUTERS AY HS2033