After two days of medical tests in Barcelona, world tennis number one, Rafael Nadal, announced today that he will indeed go to Wimbledon to defend his title.

'I'll give 200% to be 100% fit for the greatest tennis tournament in the world and the one I most wanted to win.  I have no intention of going out onto Centre Court, or any other court for that matter, to see how it goes.  I'll play at 100% or not at all,' he announced via his website today.

Nadal has spent the last two days undergoing exhaustive tests under the supervision of Doctor Angel Ruiz Cotorro at a Barcelona clinic.

'My knees have been playing up for a few months now and I just can't carry on like this.  The pain is limiting me physically and this is having an effect on my state of mind too,' explained the tennis star.

'I have two very tough weeks ahead of me, not playing tennis, which I love, but going through rehabilitation and physiotherapy to recuperate muscle in specific areas,' he said.

Nadal's knee problems stopped him going to Queen's to defend the title he won there last year, but if he manages to get himself fully fit in time for Wimbledon, it will have been a worthwhile sacrifice.