Bad, but expected news from Rafael Nadal that after losing a grueling match against David Goffin in the opening match in London, had to pull out from the ATP Finals.
The Spanish legend wasn’t sure about his participation in London because of his battered knee, and some footage about his training wasn’t so reassuring as it was clear that the Mallorcan didn’t want to put any pressure on his body.
Still, the world no.1 gave it a shot, and he played the first match against David Goffin. The outcome was a disaster because Rafa had to stay on court for long (2 hours and 37 minutes) before losing the match 7-6 (5) 6-7 (4) 6-4.
After the contest, Nadal took the (right) decision to withdraw from the finals. Rafa will be replaced by fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.
I know what to do
Soon after the match, Rafa announced his retirement to say
“I made the commitment to the event, the city, with myself… I tried… I cannot keep going. It really doesn’t make sense
I know what I have to do. I know all the things that happened in the past when I had these things, and I know the treatment that I had to do. I know the periods of time that I need to work. Then if the treatment works or not, we will see.
The good thing is nothing new. Everybody on my team, we have the right experience on this thing. We hope to manage it well, to have the right rest, the right work, and try to be ready for the beginning of the next season.”
Rafa will now take a prolonged period off the court. Rafa is scheduled to play the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in December (28-30th), let’s see if he will be ready for that.
| ALWAYS TRYING HARD |
| Embed from Getty Images |
