Nadal’s injury is improving constantly and can beat Djokovic for world no.1 rank. TONI NADAL

Rafael Nadal did not play at the Shanghai Masters this week. He is recovering from a wrist injury he suffered last month. The Spaniard had a busy September. He won the US Open against Daniil Medvedev before playing at the Laver Cup. He suffered the injury while at the tournament and has not played since. He has missed the Asia swing of the tour but will be back on the court soon. His uncle Toni Nadal has said that Rafa’s injury is close to healing.

The injury is getting better

Toni gave the update while promoting the 2020 Mallorca Championships. He is serving as a director for the ATP grass-court tournament. Toni responded to a question about his nephew’s injury and gave a positive update. “He was painful a bit last week, but every day he is getting better.” The 58-year-old also said he fancied Nadal’s chances of ending the year at the number one position. While acknowledging that Novak Djokovic was in a strong position, Toni believes Nadal can move to number one if he performs well in Paris and London.

Nadal fighting for the world no. 1 vs. Djokovic

Djokovic played at the Shanghai Masters this week. The world number one was a favorite to win the title but lost in the quarterfinals to Stefanos Tsitsipas. He gained 180 just points from his participation at the tournament. The 32-year-old now trails Nadal by 1280 points in the ATP rankings for the year. He could lose the number one ranking to the Spaniard at the Paris Masters. Nadal did not play at the tournament last year and will be defending fewer points compared to Djokovic. A deep run for Nadal in Paris will see him move to number one.

Nadal challenging Federer for slams titles

The Spaniard is also chasing Roger Federer’s record of most career Grand Slam titles. His win at the US Open last month was his 19^th major title of his career. He is now only one title away from equaling the Swiss record of 20 Grand Slam title. The two players played together at the Laver Cup.

Nadal is also in the middle of wedding preparations with his fiancé Xisca Perello. The couple will be married on 19^th October at the La Fortaleza estate in Mallorca. Among the guests invited to the wedding are Cristiano Ronaldo and Enrique Iglesias. The couple has taken some measures to ensure privacy at the event. Guests will not have their phones during the ceremony. After the wedding, Nadal will travel to Kazakhstan for an exhibition match against Djokovic. According to Express, the two will play at the Barys Arena in Nur Sultan. The arena has a capacity to seat 11,000 people. They will miss the ATP events in Basel and Vienna, which are scheduled for the week of the exhibition.

Rafael Nadal’s ranking and performance in 2019

Ranked no.2, the Spaniard played his last match on the 8^th of September when he defeated Daniil Medvedev 7-5 6-3 5-7 4-6 6-4 in the final in U.S. Open to win his 84^th career title.

This year Rafael has a 47-6 win-loss record. The Spaniard clinched 4 titles in 2019 in Rome, at the French Open, in Montreal and at the U.S. Open. Rafael was the finalist at the Australian Open.