Why isn’t Rafael Nadal playing in the Montreal Masters 1000?
The Spanish tennis superstar is still recovering from an abdominal injury he sustained in Wimbledon, so he won’t take part in the Canadian tournament.
Bad news for Rafael Nadal and tennis fans as the Spanish virtuoso won’t be attending this week’s Canadian Masters 1000 event in Montreal due to an ongoing abdominal issue.
Nadal, who won in Montreal three times and lifted the trophy in Toronto on two occasions, aggravated the injury during his quarterfinal match against American Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon on July 6, which eventually forced him to withdraw from the semifinals of the prestigious tournament and give up any hopes of achieving the elusive calendar Grand Slam.
“I have been practicing for a while now without serving and started with serves four days ago,” said Nadal in a statement.
“Everything has been going well. However, yesterday, after my normal practice, I felt a slight bother on my abdominal and today it was still there. After speaking with my doctor, we prefer to take things in a conservative way and give a few more days before starting to compete “, he added.
Injuries haven’t discouraged Nadal
Nadal faced injury issues a few months ago when a cracked rib forced him off the courts for the whole of April. However, the 36-time ATP Masters 1000 champion bounced back in time for the French Open, where he won his 22nd Grand Slam title.
Novak Djokovic will also miss the Canadian Masters 1000 event, which alternates between the host cities of Montreal and Toronto each year. The Serb hasn’t been vaccinated against covid-19, and will not be allowed to enter the country.
The competition will be without any of the so-called Big Three, as Roger Federer has been out of action since undergoing surgery for a knee injury.
The ATP Tour’s Masters 1000 Tournament is seen as a tune-up contest for the U.S. Open, which will begin towards the end of this month.