However, the 27-year-old expects to make a comeback next year and has entered the Auckland Open from January 11-16 to complete his preparations for the Australian Open, starting in Melbourne the following weekend.
Del Potro won the Auckland event earlier this year before going on to capture his first grand slam title at the US Open last month.
"Nalbandian is a quality player who has something special in his game as witnessed by his grand slam record of having reached a final and several semi-finals," Auckland tournament director Richard Palmer said in a statement on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Julian Linden; Editing by John O'Brien; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
(C) 2009 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters Sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
