Nadal “forgets” injury to play exhibition with Djokovic after wedding. Paris, London next

The Spaniard will play for the first time this month in an exhibition match in Kazakhstan.

Nadal Djokovic

Rafael Nadal has been out of action since the Laver Cup. The 33-year-old won the US Open last month. The win took his Grand Slam tally to nineteen and he can now equal Roger Federer’s record if the wins a major title next season. The two played together for Team Europe in the Laver Cup but the Spaniard injured his wrist during the tournament. The Spaniard will be back on the court this week as he prepares for the final stages of the season.

Nadal and his hand injury

Nadal will travel to Kazakhstan to face Novak Djokovic in an exhibition match. They will play the match on Wednesday. The two players will hold a joint press conference at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. They will also hold a coaching clinic for local kids in the Asian country. Djokovic played in the Shanghai Masters this month but lost in the quarterfinals. The 32-year-old opted to skip the Vienna Open as well as the Swiss Indoors in Basel to play with Nadal in Kazakhstan. The current world No.2 has been recovering from the wrist injury and took the time off to wed his long-time fiancé Xisca Perello.

The wedding with Xisca Perello

The wedding took place over the weekend in Nadal’s home town of Manacor. The venue was the La Fortaleza estate which is a highly private and well-guarded property. Around three hundred and fifty people attended the ceremony. Among the guests was the former King of Spain Juan Carlos as well as pop star Enrique Iglesias. Rafa and Xisca said their vows to cement a relationship that began in 2005. The couple had been on holiday in the Bahamas earlier this month in a pre-honeymoon. Nadal will get back into tennis action ahead of the final tournaments of the tour.

The battle for No.1 with Djokovic starting in Paris and London

The Spaniard will play at the Paris Masters next week after facing Djokovic in Kazakhstan. He has also qualified for the ATP London finals in London slated for next month. After playing in London, Nadal will represent his country in the Davis Cup finals in Madrid. The 2019 US Open winner and Djokovic have been in the battle for the number one position. However, after Djokovic was defeated in the Shanghai Masters by Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Serbian only gained 180 points from the tournament. His decision to skip the tournaments in Vienna or Basel means that he will lose his number one ranking to Nadal.

Rafael Nadal’s ranking and performance in 2019

Rafael Nadal Stats info

Ranked no.2, Rafael played his last match on the 8th 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 84th career title.

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

Novak Djokovic’s ranking and performance in 2019

Novak Djokovic Stats info

Now the world no.1, the Serbian played his last match on the 11th of October when he surrendered to Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6 7-5 6-3 in the quarter in Shanghai.

This year Novak has a 48-9 win-loss record. The Serbian conquered 4 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Madrid, in Wimbledon and in Tokyo. Novak was the finalist in Rome.

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic played each other 54 times. The head to head is 28-26 for Djokovic.

The last time that they played each other, Rafael Nadal won 6-0 4-6 6-1 in the final in Rome in 19th May 2019.

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic

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