Illness delays Rafael Nadal’s return to competition

Rafael Nadal’s return to competitive tennis has been delayed by a stomach virus.

The Spaniard was scheduled to play in an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday after missing seven months because of tendinitis in his left knee. But he said on his Facebook page Tuesday that his doctors ordered him to pull out when he was running a fever, telling him his body needed rest.

“My rehab has gone well, my knee feels good and I was looking forward to competing,” he said.

The 11-time Grand Slam champion hasn’t played since June, when he lost to 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol in the second round at Wimbledon.

The injury prevented Nadal from defending his singles gold at the Olympics in London, where he was supposed to be Spain’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony. He also had to pull out of the U.S. Open and Spain’s Davis Cup final against the Czech Republic.

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic and No. 3 Andy Murray were also scheduled to play at Abu Dhabi.

ETC.

Andruw Jones is arrested

Jail records show that former Atlanta Braves and Dodgers outfielder Andruw Jones is free on bond after being arrested in suburban Atlanta on suspicion of battery.

About 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to a call about a domestic dispute between Jones and his wife in Duluth.

Gwinnett County Detention Center records say Jones was booked into the county jail about 3:45 a.m. and had been released on $2,400 bond by 11 a.m.

Once one of the premier players in the big leagues, Jones broke into the majors with the Braves in 1996 and won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1998 to 2007 as their center fielder. He has 434 home runs over 17 seasons in the majors.

Jones signed a $3.5-million, one-year contract with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’s Pacific League this month.

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Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao will miss his fourth straight game because of a bruised right knee.

The Cavaliers said Varejao won’t travel with them to Washington for Wednesday night’s game against the Wizards. Varejao, who leads the NBA in rebounding, wasn’t with the Cavaliers on Saturday when they ended a six-game losing streak with a win in Milwaukee. He stayed in Cleveland to receive additional treatment, and the Cavaliers had hoped the extra rest would help him return this week.

Varejao injured his knee last week against Toronto. The 6-foot-11 Brazilian has been replaced in the starting lineup by rookie Tyler Zeller.

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In her traditional Christmas speech to the nation, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II commended the dedication of the volunteers at the London Olympics.

“As London hosted a splendid summer of sport, all those who saw the achievement and courage at the Olympic and Paralympic Games were further inspired by the skill, dedication, training and teamwork of our athletes,” she said.

She said the success of the event was also because of the efforts of an army of volunteers. “Those public-spirited people came forward in the great tradition of all those who devote themselves to keeping others safe, supported and comforted.”

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Four years after Pakistani gunmen laid siege to India’s financial capital of Mumbai, South Asia’s bitter rivals were meeting again on the cricket ground, marking a gradual thaw in their decades-old rivalry.

The first bilateral series between India and Pakistan since November 2007, consisting of two Twenty20 matches and three one-day internationals, began Christmas Day with a Twenty20 match in the southern Indian city of Bangalore.