Rafael Nadal announced that he will not play ATP1000 in Cincinnati because of his issue with his left foot. The Spanish champion has been dealing with this injury for more than 2 months.
He revealed that he didn’t practice for 20 days during this summer to try to recover. Nadal has decided to try to have a packed schedule during the American swing. Nadal was expected to play in Washington, Toronto, and Cincinnati before the US Open now. Eventually, Nadal had to withdraw from the ATP1000 in Toronto and now in Cincinnati.
Like in Toronto, also in Cincinnati we will not have the presence of the Big3 after also Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic pulled out from the tournament. Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas are expected to be the top 2 seeds.
Will Nadal played US Open?
There are strong doubts about the opportunity that Rafael Nadal will play the US Open. In fact, it is difficult to think that he can play his tennis for 7 matches at the high level on hard court.
Milos Raonic also joined Nadal in the north playing in Cincinnati after he withdrew from Toronto because of a heel injury.
Rafael Nadal in 2021
Now ranked no.4, the Spaniard played his last match on the 5th of August when he surrendered to world no.49 Harris Lloyd 6-4 1-6 6-4 in the 3rd round in Washington (draw).
At present, during this year Nadal has managed to achieve an overall 24-5 win-loss record. The Spaniard conquered 2 titles in 2021 in Barcelona and in Rome.
Milos Raonic in 2021
Currently ranked no.23, Raonic played his last match on the 28th of July when he surrendered to world no.87 Brandon Nakashima 5-7 6-3 7-6(4) in the 2nd round in Atlanta (draw).
At present, during this year the Canadian owns a composed 7-5 record.
Rafael Nadal and Milos Raonic fought against each other 10 times. Their actual head to head record is 8-2 for Nadal. Previously, the last time they fought against each other, Rafael Nadal won 6-3 7-6(1) in the round robin in Geneva (Laver Cup) in September 2019.
Rafael Nadal and Milos Raonic |
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