Rafael Nadal played at his first tournament last week after a long injury layoff. The Spaniard had suffered a wrist injury at the Laver Cup in September. He took the time off to tie the knot with his longtime girlfriend Xisca Perello last month. He was on track to reach the final in Bercy but suffered an injury set back before his semifinal match against Denis Shapovalov.
Nadal injured
Nadal sustained an abdominal strain during a practice session before the match. He consulted with his doctor who confirmed the injury. The 33-year-old returned to the court and tried to continue practicing but the pain from his injury persisted. He chose to withdraw from the tournament to avoid aggravating the injury. He had suffered a similar injury at the 2009 US Open which got worse when he continued playing at the tournament. Drawing from his previous experience, the Spaniard decided to avoid risking further injury and instead prepare for the ATP Finals.
Nadal will return to Mallorca for further tests
The tournament will begin next week and Nadal is hopeful he will be ready to play in London. The Spaniard says that he will undergo more tests to evaluate the injury and his chances of playing at the finals. He will travel back to Mallorca and undergo further examinations before making a decision about playing in London. “I go back home. I have to do what I have to do to check everything right.”
After another early exit in Bercy, the world No.2 expressed his disappointment at the timing of the injury. He had played three good matches at the tournament and was a favorite to reach the final. A win at the tournament would have ensured that the Spaniard ended the year as the world number one. His withdrawal gave Denis Shapovalov the chance to win his second ATP title of the year. However, the Canadian came up short against Novak Djokovic. The Serbian won the match in straight sets to secure his fifth title at the Paris Masters. The victory improved his chances of ending the year as world number one. While he fell to the number two position after the tournament, he trails Nadal by only 640 points. There will be 1500 points on offer at the ATP finals, and with Nadal not fully fit, a win for Djokovic at the tournament would take him back to the number one position. A sixth end of year number one ranking would tie Pete Sampras’ record.
Rafael Nadal’s ranking and performance in 2019
Now the world no.1, the Spaniard played his last match on the 2nd of November when he lost to Denis Shapovalov w/o in the semifinal in Paris.
This year the Spaniard has a 50-6 win-loss record. Rafael has won 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
Ranked no.2, Djokovic played his last match on the 3rd of November when he defeated Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-4 in the final in Paris to win his 77th career title.
This year Novak has a 53-9 win-loss record. The Serbian has won 5 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Madrid, in Wimbledon, in Tokyo and in Paris. The Serbian 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 squared off, Rafael Nadal won 6-0 4-6 6-1 in the final in Rome on the 19th May 2019.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic |
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