Nadal’s comeback ends with elimination in Cincinnati
The Spaniard who hasn’t lost in his opening game of any tournament since October 2016, fell to Croatia’s Borna Coric.
“You cannot expect to return to a fantastic level from the start”, Rafa Nadal had warned at a press conference ahead of his participation in Cincinnati. The player from Manacor hasn’t competed in almost a month and a half since his withdrawal at Wimbledon with his last game coming on 6 July.
His reappearance on the major stage saw the Spaniard scheduled to play in the afternoon session, which then became a night session due to rain, which stopped his match against Borna Coric for one hour and 25 minutes. Too many adverse circumstances to face for Nadal over a rival who has beaten the Spaniard twice with Coric making it a third time with a with a 7-6 (9), 4-6 and 6-3 win in a game lasting just under three hours.
Nadal hasn’t lost at the first round in a tournament since October 2016, when the Serbian Viktor Troicki eliminated him in the second round in Shanghai (he was exempt from the first). Last night in Cincinnati, Nadal’s period of inactivity was noticeable as he missed some relatively easy shots against Coric’s second serves. Nadal’s own serve failed to create any major problems for the Croatian and the lack of ferocity in the delivery may have something to do with the hangover from the abdominal pain that forced the Wimbledon withdrawal. Nadal’s forehand, despite falling short at at times, was still the best part of his game and the important thing is that the player seemed to be playing pain free.
Nadal went into the Western and Southern Open faced with the possibility of securing the No. 1 spot in the ranking which would have required Medvedev not to reach the quarterfinals with Nadal winning the tournament. As things stand, the 36-year-old can now start preparing for the US Open with extra time and possibly sooner than he would have hoped for and expected.