Rafael Nadal won a gritty match against Jack sock in his opening match in Washington at the Citi Open. The Spanish Champions had to battle for slightly more than 3 hours before beating the American 6-2 4-6 7-61.
The foot injury
Unfortunately, Rafael Nadal has been battling with a foot injury for more than 2 months. According to his coach, Rafa had some issues facing Novak Djokovic in the French Open semi-final. Therefore, after the Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal decided not to play any tournament during the grass-court season also to skip the Olympic Games.
Recently, Rafael Nadal admitted that he did not touch a racket for 20 days after the French Open.
Nadal decided to have a packed schedule in the North American swing. The world number 3 is scheduled to play back-to-back the Citi Open in Washington, the Rogers Cup in Toronto, and the ATP1000 in Cincinnati. The overall idea was to test his fitness.
After beating Jack sock, Rafael Nadal expressed his doubts about his physical conditions. Nadal admitted that his fitness is fine, but he is still struggling with his foot.
During the press conference that followed his match against the American, Rafael Nadal commented:
“My fitness is fine. I just need to be a little bit – I need to have a little bit of less pain in the foot, honestly. That’s the truth. But physically, I feel more or less okay
.Of course, you need matches like this to be fitter after a month without competing. But that’s part of the process, and I know the process. I went through all this stuff many times in my career. So it’s something I am not worried about.
So is about winning this kind of matches. That helps you to be better. Then, if I’m able to improve with my foot. I think the rest of the things are going to come step by step.”
Nadal in Washington, ranking, and results in 2021
Now ranked no.3, the Spaniard has achieved an overall 24-4 match record in 2021. Nadal is participating in Washington where he overcame Jack Sock 6-2 4-6 7-61.
Rafael Nadal will square off with the world no.50 Lloyd Harris in the 3rd round. In the past, they have never competed against each other till now in top events.
Nadal conquered 2 titles in 2021 in Barcelona and in Rome.
Rafael won 88 titles in his career: 21 on hard courts, 62 on clay courts, 1 on indoor courts and 4 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Rafael Nadal |
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