Rafael Nadal to miss World Tour finals in London

The former world number one, who has been plagued by injury and illness since winning a ninth French Open crown in June, has been treating appendicitis with antibiotics and has decided to bring forward surgery to Nov. 3.

"I'm not going to play Paris (Masters next week) and London. I'm not competitive enough," Nadal told a news conference after going out in the quarter-finals of the Swiss Indoor event in Basel.

He said he hoped to return at the Qatar Open in January. The eight-man London season-ender begins on Nov. 9.

The 28-year-old's absence is a big blow to the ATP Tour's blue riband event although on the evidence of his defeat by Croatian teenager Borna Coric on Friday, he is clearly in no fit shape to compete.

Since returning from the wrist injury that sidelined him from Wimbledon until the end of September, Nadal has looked a pale shadow of the player who has collected 14 grand slam titles.

He lost to Slovakia's Martin Klizan in Beijing at the start of this month and in Shanghai the following week he was beaten by compatriot Feliciano Lopez.

Against the 17-year-old Coric his movement looked laboured and his shots rusty as he went down 6-2 7-6 (4).

Nadal had already qualified for the Tour Finals, along with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Stanislas Wawrinka and Marin Cilic, and his withdrawal eases the pressure on the likes of Andy Murray, David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych who are vying for places in the event.

Djokovic beat Nadal in last year's London final.

Croatian wunderkind Borna Coric produced more emphatic proof of his potential when he beat 14-times grand slam champion Rafa Nadal in the quarter-finals of the Swiss Indoor tournament on Friday.

The 17-year-old, already being called 'Baby Djokovic' because of similarities with world number one Novak Djokovic, gave an off-colour Nadal a torrid time, winning 6-2 7-6 (4).

The Spaniard, who is suffering from appendicitis and earlier in the day pulled out of next week's Paris Masters, was unrecognisable in the first set as he offered no resistance.

Nadal's timing improved marginally in the second but twice Coric served to stay in the set and held his nerve when a loose forehand from his opponent gave him two match points.

Coric needed only one of them, forcing a weary Nadal to send a defensive forehand wide.