Rafael Nadal pulled out of the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai yesterday, citing fatigue after a long season and the need to prepare for the Davis Cup final.

The world's top-ranked player made the announcement on his Web site, describing his withdrawal as "one of the most difficult decisions in my career."

Nadal, who won two Grand Slam titles and the Olympic gold medal this year as he supplanted Roger Federer at No. 1, said he was physically rundown.

"It has been a long and difficult year where I managed to obtain great results, both on a professional and on a personal level," he said.

"I have mentioned on various occasions that the tennis calendar has been extremely hard with practically all weeks playing and where it forces players to compete week in, week out, making it impossible for a top level player to be 100 percent" for each event.

The Spaniard, winner of a fourth consecutive French Open title and first Wimbledon championship this year, withdrew Friday from the Paris Masters with a knee problem after losing the first set of his quarterfinal match against Nikolai Davydenko.

"On a personal level I had as one of my goals to become No. 1 during this year and competing at so many events might have harmed, especially at the end of the season, my physical condition, taking away the freshness needed to play at the top level of the game in these last events," Nadal said.

Nadal will be replaced in Wednesday's draw in Shanghai by Gilles Simon.

Sophomore point guard Talor Battle was named Penn State's captain. He averaged 10.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists last season.

• Nikola Kecman, a sophomore on the Ohio State men's basketball team, will sit out the first 12 games of the 2008-09 season in an agreement reached jointly by the NCAA and the university. Kecman played for the Vizura team in his native Serbia as it was making the transition from an amateur to a professional team. The NCAA Eligibility Center determined that Kecman might have received more than "actual and necessary" expenses while playing for the team, leading to his 12-game term of ineligibility. Kecman did not receive money to play for Vizura but was penalized for playing with others the NCAA considered professionals.

Seve Ballesteros continues to make progress after surgery on a cancerous brain tumor. The 53-year-old Spanish golf great is conscious, breathing unaided and able to talk to relatives. Ballesteros has begun to receive rehabilitation treatment in the intensive care unit, the hospital added. Ballesteros, a five-time major winner, had a 6 1/2-hour operation Oct. 24 to remove the brain tumor and reduce swelling around the brain. It was his third operation since being admitted 18 days earlier after fainting at Madrid's international airport.

• Greg Norman Jr. hit a 111-yard pitching wedge to within an inch of the cup in the final event, and he and his father won the $800,000 Golf Skills Challenge. Sponsored by ADT, the event at Aventura, Fla. featured four pairings of pros and their caddies -- the Normans, U.S. Open runner-up Rocco Mediate and Matthew Achatz, Fred Couples and Joe LaCava, and Peter Jacobsen and Mike Cowan.

The International Equestrian Federation is trying to remove the top officials who run the Olympic discipline of dressage because it says they are too inflexible. The federation said it has asked for immediate resignations from the six-member dressage committee. The request for resignations was made by the FEI's executive board.

Two runners died after completing the New York City Marathon, one shortly after crossing the finish line and the other several hours later. Carlos Jose Gomes, a 58-year-old Brazilian, died of a heart attack at a Manhattan hospital after completing the race. The other runner who died was a man whose identity and cause of death weren't immediately disclosed.