Rafael Nadal unsurprisingly withdrew from the Nitto ATP Finals on Monday, citing various injuries. The Spaniard has not played since retiring from his U.S. Open semifinal against Juan Martin Del Potro with a knee problem. He was briefly in last week’s Paris Masters draw before pulling out due to an abdominal issue.
Nadal also announced that he is undergoing a minor ankle procedure, although he noted that it would not have prevented him from playing in London and is doing it now only because he has time off as a result of the other injuries.
The world No. 2’s absence means John Isner will make his debut at the O2 Arena. Isner finished the regular season as the second alternate; first alternate Kei Nishikori snagged his spot when Del Potro withdrew last week due to knee problems of his own.
With Nadal’s withdrawal, Novak Djokovic has clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking.
The finalized London field includes Djokovic, Roger Federer, Alexander Zverev, Kevin Anderson, Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem, Nishikori, and Isner. Djokovic and Federer are now guaranteed to be in opposite round-robin groups thanks to Nadal’s exit.
[polldaddy poll=10156362]
see you in 2019
/sigh
If Roger wins the WTF will he take over the #2 ranking?
Depends on how many RR matches he wins.
Khachanov may have a chance to play at WTF if Sasha hasn’t recovered from his shoulder issue – perhaps plays as an alternate should Sasha decide to withdraw after playing a match or two.
That could be fun.
I just came here to post the news!
Get well soon Rafa! Have a great off season and fix your serve!
Wtf seems to be losing people left right and centre…
It’s not surprising that Rafa pulled out of London. I just hope he can come back healthy in 2019.
I am not invested in the WTF. I will wait for the new year to watch tennis.
Very sorry to hear about Rafa’s injuries, but thrilled Isner made it!
Get well soon Rafa!…Yeah!….Like many Rafans,hope he will recover well from all this injury,and will have a better 2019 campaign….Start with AO of cozzz!VAMOS!
LOVE U RAFA!!
Hi mira and nny!
Am glad Rafa isn’t playing. Way too much risk if he did. Am looking forward to AO and celebrating his double career slam with both of you
xxxxx
Hey amy!…How r u?…Miss u guys so much!…When Rafa is not playing,almost all of us vanished too!Hehehe….
Yeah amy!…I’m glad too!…But,the surgery on his ankle is a little bit surprise for me…I didn’t know at all that his ankle has a problem…Oh poor Rafa!…Not 1 single space in his body free from injury/pain….I guess,these 1 or 2 years ahead a bonus time for him & for us right?
Amy,
Hi! I was surprised to hear about the ankle issue. I wonder if he will be able to be ready for the AO. I just hope we can see him play for a little longer.
I could care less about the WTF. I have never been very fond of that tournament. I just feel bad that Rafa lost the # 1 ranking after having it for most of the year. I hate that another injury forced him out of action.
Rafa’s team seems to think he will be ready for the new season. He postponed the exho for St Llorence victims. No word yet on the Saudi Arabia thing.
He’s on clutches right now. I think he will not play that SA exho, as he will be still in recovery/ training mode. Good excuse not to play there (maybe that’s why Rafa decides to do the ankle operation?).
He will be ready for the new season but that doesn’t mean he’s going to win tournaments right away. I think his aim is still the clay season and thereafter.
I doubt Rafa can recover well enough to win at AO, so disappointing that his seasons have to end like this, from 2016-2018, not forgetting 2014 too! It’s a pity that when Rafa is playing very well, he has to get injured and his good form/good season cut short by injury. It’s even more frustrating that when he’s in good position to defend his no.1 ranking he has to get injured and lost it (like in 2009, 2014 and now).
I truly hope that he can recover well, works on his serve (get back that 2017 serve at least) and be at 100% fitness when he comes back. Please also play like he did during the 2017 clay season ie being aggressive and playing short point tennis. And, pick and choose what tournament to play wisely, must set a limit for himself, not to tax his body like it’s his 22 yo self! (sigh…He not having a great serve from young is something regrettable imo).
Glad to hear Rafa is being smart with his schedule skipping Laver Cup and WTF promo events.
Expect Fed to draw Thiem and Nishikori and Nole to get Cilic and Isn’tner.
With that draw,Roger can take the No. 2 spot from Rafa. He needs to go undefeated to do so.
Congrats to Me!
I picked the draw peRFectly. A 1 in 8 probability of “random” (not) chance.
OT, I feel Khachanov may be ready to win a slam (AO) next year, if he can continue with his winning momentum. AO is not too far away; and I hope (sorry Sasha) that Khachanov gets a chance to play a match at WTF, to test whether he could sustain his good form beyond the Paris Masters.
Who knows, it’s Khachanov and not Sasha or Tsitsipas among the next gen, to get his hands on a slam trophy first. I find that he has the right mix of attack and defense, has the power game to win from the baseline and, knows how to win points when at the net. He has a big serve and not bad ROS too. How on earth he improves so much! Very impressive!
We’ve had promising players at end of year (Dimitrov,Sock)who were disappointing but yeah Khach is going to win Slams.
I meant disappointing at start of following year,unless it’s someone like Djokovic
Sasha and Shapovalov are very one dimensional they don’t have that balance yet.They can’t stand on baseline and hit shorter swings,for instance.
Rafa with the highest win pct in 2018.
And 2 of his 4 losses were due to retirement. Sometimes I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
This is the second time in his career doing so (having > 90% win rate); the first was in 2013. 2013 was one of his best years, except he had to miss AO and lost first round at Wimbledon. He made 14 finals in that year, winning 10 titles including five Masters and two slams, reached final of WTF. I think only Fed’s 2006 and Djoko’s 2011 & 2015 ranked above that among the current players.
His 2018 was very good too if not for those injuries he suffered. He made at least the QF in every event he played ie all nine, won five titles in five finals.