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Staying off the grass Rest takes precedence over Wimbledon for Kuerten
PARIS (Reuters) -- World No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten finally confirmed on Sunday he will not play at Wimbledon later this month. The Brazilian, who won a third French Open title on Sunday, said he would take two weeks off and rest rather than play the grass Grand Slam. "I will take care of some small injuries and then start from the beginning," he said. Kuerten's plans to rest remove him from the row surrounding the seeding system at Wimbledon. He had earlier said he would support any boycott of the tournament organised in protest at the seeding. Wimbledon, threatened with a revolt by top players, scrapped the committee it uses to decide seeds for the men's singles in April. The grass court tournament has said it will not, however, adhere strictly to ATP rankings when deciding seeds. Wimbledon are to make a statement on Monday which is widely believed to concern the seeding issue. The tournament has resisted players' demands to stick to the ATP Tour's 12-month rankings when determining seeds. French Open runner-up Alex Corretja said on Sunday he will wait for Wimbledon to make a decision before deciding whether to play. "I will make my decision after they make theirs," he said. "I would like to see how they manage everything this year." Fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero earlier said he would not play at Wimbledon unless the seeding system was changed. "I've always had a positive intention to play Wimbledon," he said at Roland Garros. "At the start of the season it was one of tournaments I marked with a little cross, but I've already said that if they don't put the seedings where they should be I won't play," added Ferrero, who lies fourth in the ATP's 12-month rankings. Ferrero pulled out of last year's Wimbledon with a back injury, but Corretja and Albert Costa decided not to play in the tournament because they were not seeded. The two were upset that their world rankings, based on all results in the past 12 months, were not used to determine the seedings, with preference given to grasscourt specialists.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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