As the days go by to the start of the biggest grass event on the tennis calendar, possibly the biggest of the Grand Slams, I thought I’d trot out a Monty Python line (though it’s usually written as the “knights who say ni”).

Perhaps the single most compelling player is one who is not playing this week. Rafael Nadal (this picture is from last year’s Wimbledon) withdrew from Queen’s Club citing knee tendinitis.

Some have questioned his explanation as gamesmanship. If his knees were so bothersome, why didn’t it appear to be a problem until Madrid? Why did Nadal play four clay court tournaments (Monte Carlo, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid)? He could have skipped Barcelona and gone into the French a bit fresher.

His news still upstages Roger Federer’s withdrawal from Halle, where Federer was defending champ (Andy Murray incorrectly said that Federer has skipped Halle last year).

If Nadal can’t play Wimbledon, and at this point, there’s no reason to see why he wouldn’t play. At the very least, if he wins a few rounds, he won’t lose as many points. Getting 0 points as the defending champion would leave Federer much close to reclaiming number 1. Even a Nadal that’s a little off can still make it to the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, the men’s grasscourt tournaments continue to roll. Halle (officially known as the Gerry Weber Open) is very Germanic these days. 4 of the 8 quarterfinalists are German and 1 other is Austrian. The other three quarterfinalists are the number 2 seed, Novak Djokovic, (Federer withdrew after the tournament had started) of Serbia, Mischa Zverev of Russia, and Olivier Rochus of Belgium.

Novak Djokovic barely got out of the second round, requiring him to save 5 match points before beating Frenchman, Florent Serra, 5-7, 7-5, 6-1. Despite this hiccup, he should be the favorite to win his first grass court title.

Queen’s Club has more interesting stories. Today (Friday), the semifinalists are decided. Juan Carlos Ferrero needed 3 sets to beat journeyman Belgian, Steve Darcis, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Ferrero was once number 1 in the world, but his ranking is now just under 100. Andy Murray is the top seed and won his match against Mardy Fish rather easily, 7-5, 6-3 (two breaks in the second).

Still up to play are Andy Roddick against big serving Ivo Karlovic and James Blake against Mihail Youzhny. Wimbledon is key for Andy Roddick. Although he’s only won one US Open, he’s been in the finals of Wimbledon twice. Still, with players like Nadal, Djokovic, and now, Andy Murray, he has his work cut out for him.

Ultimately, the transition to grass play involves two things. Handling low bounces and serving well. It’s surprising, given the high loopy nature of Nadal’s play, that he has excelled at handling the low bounces of Wimbledon. In 2002, Wimbledon changed the grass so it played slower. The result? Two baseliners, Lleyton Hewitt and David Nalbandian, made it to the finals.

Prior to 2002, a big serve and volleyer type had made it to pretty much every final. This included Patrick Rafter, Pete Sampras, and Goran Ivanisevic.

After this week, most players will take next week off to prepare for the start of Wimbledon.

The question is whether Nadal plays. The odds are yes, he’ll be there to defend his title.

ADDENDUM: Andy Roddick beat Ivo Karlovic the usual way. Two tiebreaks. 7-6(4), 7-6(5). James Blake also needed a tiebreak to beat Mikhail Youzhny: 7-6(5), 6-3. Murray plays Ferrero in one semis while Blake plays Roddick in the other.

In Halle,
Kohlschreiber d Beck 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
Haas d Zverev 7-6(5), 6-2
O Rochus d B Becker 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3.
Djokovic d. Melzer 6-1, 6-4.

Halle semifinals: Kohlschreiber to play Haas. Djokovic to play Rochus.