Juan Carlos Ferrero complained that constant pain from nagging leg injuries had left him unable to compete during his 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 thrashing by Roger Federer in the Australian Open semi-final on Friday.
French Open champion Ferrero grumbled throughout the first five rounds at Melbourne Park, saying he was troubled by a variety of bumps and bruises to his legs, elbow, groin and back.
By Friday's semi-final, the pain proved too great and the Spanish baseliner tamely surrendered his title hopes.
"Roger today had an easy match, he didn't have to run a lot because of me," said Ferrero, who would have had the chance to regain the top spot in the rankings if he had beaten Federer.
The honour of being the new world number one instead fell to Federer after his semi-final win.
"In the first set first set I started to feel a lot of pain in my right leg and couldn't drive so well. It was a disaster," third seed Ferrero told reporters.
"I was today not so good. I think I couldn't play my best tennis.
"I think that if I'm 100 percent, I could win the match.
"When I go too far to get the ball I felt too much pain and then to recover to get the ball, it's not so good."
Ferrero never looked like toppling second seed Federer.
After a tentative start by both players, Federer slowly began to assert his dominance over the sluggish Spaniard and broke Ferrero to love in the 10th game to claim the first set.
SHARP PAIN
It was one-way traffic through the second set as Federer broke Ferrero twice more.
What had shaped as a potential five-set thriller was over in 89 unsatisfying minutes.
"I was taking anti-inflammatories but it wasn't enough to be okay today," Ferrero said.
Ferrero had problems with an elbow and his back in the first two rounds and by the fourth round against Romanian Andrei Pavel, he felt a sharp pain in one leg.
During the quarter-finals against Moroccan Hicham Arazi, the muscle pain had spread to both legs.
Ferrero said he even considered pulling out after his second-round match against Italian Filippo Volandri.
"Maybe the second day against Volandri because I felt problems in my back and also in my arm," he said.
"I didn't feel so good but was winning in three sets."
Ferrero said his array of injuries was most likely caused by not having enough time to rest between the Davis Cup final last November -- when Spain were beaten by Australia last November -- and the season's opening Grand Slam.
"Here in the Australian Open I just had 15 days to prepare physically," he said. "Maybe it's part of the problem I have now."
