Rafael Nadal set to skip the US Open after confirming his participation in Madrid

Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal wasn’t very excited about going and play the upcoming US Open and it seems more and more plausible that he will skip the entire North American swing.

The Spanish legend is the US Open defending champion; however, after the ranking system has been changed he won’t lose a single point if he doesn’t play in New York.

The big (but expected) news are that the tournament director of the Madrid ATP1000, Feliciano Lopez, has just announced Nadal’s participation in Madrid with a message on Twitter saying:

“I talked to my friend @RafaelNadaland he has confirmed his participation in Madrid next September! We wait for you as always with open arms in the Magic Box!”

This is a smart move from Rafa as the event in Madrid is the only one that may give him more points among the top tournaments that will take place after the resume of the tennis tours (excluding Cincinnati). In fact, in 2019 Nadal won the US Open, Rome and the Roland Garros while last year he lost in the semifinal in Madrid. With the new 22-month ranking system, the world no.2 will definitely retain the points he conquered last year at the US Open, Rome and the Roland Garros.

Why Nadal will probably skip the US Open

Therefore, there are many reasons why Nadal will most probably decide not to play in New York. The event in Madrid will be staged soon after the US Open and Rafa is used to get injured after the American slam. Therefore, there is no point in risking his body at the US Open instead of being “fresh” for the clay swing with 3 key tournaments to be played back to back (Madrid, Rome, and Paris). In addition, there are also question marks about a possible quarantine that players could be subjected after coming back from the US. Finally, as anticipated, Rafa ha already expressed many times his doubts about playing at the Flushing Meadows.

By doing this, Rafa can be a real contender to snatch the world no.1 rank from Novak Djokovic that instead “needs” to go to the US Open if he wants to get additional points. In 2019, the Serbian sensation lost in the 4th round of the US Open when he had to retire when facing Stan Wawrinka. However, Novak is not really keen on going to New York given the current situation.

Rafael Nadal in 2020

Rafael Nadal Stats info

Ranked world no.2, the Spaniard played his last match on the 29th of February when he overcame Taylor Fritz 6-3 6-2 in the final in Acapulco to win his 85th career title.

At present, this year Nadal has a 13-3 win-loss record. Nadal clinched 1 title in Acapulco.

Feliciano Lopez in 2020

Feliciano Lopez Stats info

Now ranked no.56, Lopez played his last match on the 4th of March when he lost to Aleksandar Vukic 6-3 3-6 6-3 in the 2nd round of the Monterrey Challenger.

Rafael Nadal and Feliciano Lopez played each other 13 times. The head to head is 9-4 for Nadal. The last time that they played, Feliciano Lopez won 5-7 6-4 7-63 in the 3rd round in Cincinnati (Western & Southern Open) in August 2015.

Rafael Nadal and Feliciano Lopez

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