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Published on September 13, 2007

Danai, who was just awarded a wildcard into the ATP tennis event, to be played from September 24 to 30, on Tuesday was uncertain about his future because of the injured right wrist that has been bothering him for a fortnight. He might not be able to enter the home tournament.

"I can't play at all. It's not so painful but when I hit the ball, it hurts,'' said Danai, who surrendered to Paul Capdeville of Chile without much of a fight 2-6 2-6 in the China Open first round on Monday.

Danai is to meet a specialist at Siriraj Hospital today for an MRI and plans to fly to Munich before Sunday to meet a well-known physiologist who has treated such famous soccer players as Michael Ballack and Miroslav Klose.

"I've heard he is the best. At this point I have no clue about this injury, but I'm not sure I can play at the Thailand Open,'' said Danai who returned from Beijing yesterday.

"It will be very disappointing if I'm not in a condition to play the Thailand Open. I love to play well and have good results at home."

If Danai fails to recover in time for the Thailand Open, it will be a further blow to the fans after Paradorn Srichaphan had already announced his withdrawal, citing wrist tendonitis which has nagged him since the end of last year.

As the former world No 9 appeared to be on his way back into shape, a recent X-ray revealed a fracture to a wrist joint. Paradorn has sent the X-ray result to the United States and might undergo treatment there if the diagnosis is serious enough.

Tamarine falls

nJapan's Aiko Nakamura and Ayumi Morita delivered a one-two punch at the Bali International, outlasting their opponents in the searing Indonesian heat yesterday.

Seventh seed Nakamura, ranked 57, outlasted veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-1 6-7 (5/7) 7-5, with the Thai losing serve at love after serving for victory, losing the match on her eighth double-fault. The marathon contest at the seaside Hyatt resort took just under three hours to complete in hot, humid conditions.

Morita, ranked 157th, booked the first of the quarter-final spots with a win over Germany's Martina Muller, 6-4 6-0.

Lerpong Amsa-ngiam

 The Nation