Monfils pulls out of Wimbledon

Halle - France's Gael Monfils announced on Wednesday that he would not playing at Wimbledon, citing personal reasons.

"I've withdrawn my request for a wildcard because I've got a small personal problem to sort out during the coming week," he said in Halle, Germany, after his second round victory over Jan Hernych.

"Something unexpected has come up in the first week of Wimbledon," he added, without specifying the nature of the problem.

But he said it was "serious enough" for him to miss the highlight of the grasscourt season without being affected.

The 26-year-old Parisian, currently ranked 67 in the world, said he would "definitely" be at the Stuttgart clay-court tournament that begins on July 8.

Monfils has played five times at Wimbledon since 2005 but has not progressed beyond the third round. His last appearance was two years ago.