González confirms participation in the "Kooyong Classic" tournament

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SANTIAGO.- As Fernando González continues his participation in the ATP tournament in Tokyo, the player has also confirmed today that he will be participating in the "Kooyong Classic", a championship that he will play before going to the 2009 Australia Open.

The organization behind the Australian tournament also announced today that, along with the La Reina native, the world's former Nº 1 tennis player Roger Federer, will also participate in the tournament after missing the event this year due to health problems.

Some of the other players that have been confirmed to participate in the tournament are Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka and U.S. player James Blake, who González went up against on his way to the finals of the Beijing Olympic Games.

One player that will not be present is the current ATP Nº1, Rafael Nadal, due to a knee injury.

"Nadal will not take part in the tournament because he needs to recuperate from problems in one of his knees and he does not want to take any physical risks one week before the Open", stated the director of the event, Colin Stubs.

The organization also announced that Russian player Marat Safin, Cypriot player Marcus Baghdatis and Latvian player Ernest Gulbis will also participate in the competition.