In what many would call ideal U.S. Open preparation, Rafael Nadal not only won the Rogers Cup title on Sunday but also withdrew from the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
“I am very sorry to announce that I won’t be playing in Cincinnati this year,” Nadal posted on social media. “No other reason than personally taking care of my body and trying to keep as healthy as I feel now. I am very thankful to my friend Andre Silva, Tournament Director of the Cincinnati tournament, who after speaking to him on the phone understood what I said and understand the situation.
“I am sure the tournament will be a success and I wish him and his team all the best. I am also sad for those amazing fans in Cincy and around who always gave me great support. I am sure I’ll see them next year and I am sorry I won’t be with them this year. Thanks for all the support as always.”
Thus the world No. 1 will head into the U.S. Open–which begins two weeks from Monday–with plenty of rest and also plenty of momentum following his fourth triumph at the Toronto/Montreal Masters 1000 event.
Nadal dropped only one set along the way, to Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals. He posted straight-set victories over Benoit Paire, Stan Wawrinka, Karen Khachanov, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Sunday’s championship match saw the top seed end Tsitsipas’ amazing run 6-2, 7-6(4) after one hour and 42 minutes.
“If you told me this two weeks ago I would not have believed it,” Nadal said on court in his post-match interview. “It’s a great way to start the hard-court season. Winning in Toronto is so important. You don’t win Masters 1000s very often. It’s a very important victory for me and I’m very happy.”
“The patience that Rafa has is amazing,” Tsitsipas praised. “He never cracks. He will always grab you like a bulldog and always will always make you suffer on the court. And it is amazing what he has built as a player. That’s how you feel when you play against him. So I need to work much more and hopefully I can reach his level one day.
“I’m really hungry for more. I believe I can achieve much more this year.”
The 20-year-old Greek is still slated to play this week in Cincinnati.
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well done, Rafa
Ricky and Cheryl
How far do you think Rafa would have gone in cincy if he hadn’t withdrawn?
depends how motivated he was to play
and clearly he wasn’t!
Ricky’s right. Cincy is a poor tournament for Nadal even when he’s well-rested. He does much better in Canada for some reason. The withdrawal was probably the correct decision.
Haha! I see 7 people have picked dimi to win cincy! Only one less than Nole on 8! Why for heavens sake??!
Well, most went for Fed who has an excellent track record there. Novak has never won it, even at his best so not much belief for him after a subpar performance in Toronto. Didn’t Dim Dim win it last year?
Too soon for me to call it. Lots of possibilities. Fed, sure, but he’s likely to be a bit rusty – he does have a cushy draw though and he’s certainly well rested. Novak would really love to win Cincy – his last missing masters title – so he’ll be motivated. Zverev will be itching to atone for Toronto – but that might do him more harm than good. Not really a pressure player, is he? Cilic? Anderson? Maybe.
Shapo’s not been looking that good lately. Tsitsi is probably out of miracle dust for awhile. Isner? Who knows? Maybe he’s recovered from Atlanta, maybe not. DimDim? I don’t think so…
Rafa had a brutal Cincy draw before opting out. How lucky is this week’s Lucky Loser?
only lucky if he ends up winning his first match, which is very doubtful!
amy,
I am wondering if it was the brutal draw in Cincy that was a factor in Rafa not playing. Playing Novak in the quarterfinals would have been tough since their matches are always so physical. I think it’s not possible to know how far Rafa would have gone in Cincy. I don’t think it is if any importance. He airways has a tough draw in Toronto.
I sense that Rafa and his team may be puking back when it comes hard court tournaments. They are so hard on his body. When Jason Goodall interviewed Rafa on court after his win over Khachanov, the camera stayed on him for a bit after it was over. Rafa said it was a long day with the rain delay. But to me he looked really tired.
Rafa did what was right for him and all we want is that he stays healthy.
Oh and I saw all those people who picked Dimi to win Cincy and thought, what have they been smoking? That is ridiculous! Not gonna happen!
🤗
Rafa already has a tough draw in Toronto! *i
I sense Rafa and his team are pulling back in hard courts! *
Nny i just wrote a reply which disappeared!😢
Will try later or tomorrow!
amy,
I have been having the same problem with posts disappearing.
I think it’s a good thing he withdrew nny given you said he looked tired. Toni has said before that rafa always plays with pain and that must be more not less difficult as you get older.
I read Rafa ‘s post match presser and he said he realised he had to start missing tourneys and listening to his team! I really hope he pares the autumn season down to the bone! He overplayed last year and it’s so silly when that is the least important time of year.
Rafa said that his body stops him if he doesn’t stop himself.
“I want to be everywhere. I love this sport. I don’t like to miss events. But at some point, if I don’t stop myself, my body stops me. So that’s the experience that I have.”
http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=142894
amy,
I agree with you. He is getting older and had to take care of his body. It also gets harder to come back after injuries as you get older. He rarely says anything, but after that late match with Khachanov, you could see it in his face.
I want him to scale back on playing during the fall hard court season. It’s never been a good time of the tennis year for him. The courts do not favor his game and it’s too much at the end of a long tennis year. Playing on hard courts has always been hard on his body. I certainly don’t want to see him having a recurrence of the knee problem like last year. That cost him a shot to win the AO this year.
Ricky deleted my tweet that was here earlier where I said I was having many posts failing to show.
Ricky, you kidding me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ba0E0EOSPc
Rafa also mentioned that he has Davis Cup semis coming up the week after the USO as another reason for pulling out of Cincy.
I forgot about DC. Well that makes his decision even more sensible. We don’t want him to have any knee problems again like last year.
Federer owns Nole in Cincy 4-0 h2h. That and Nole having never won there will be the difference.
Djoko has a better chance to beat Federer at the USO assuming Nole can get past Rafa first.
Smart move by Rafa. Tsitsipas should probably do the same. He could be done at the US Open if he plays Cincy, especially if he makes another run.
hats off to Rafa, and great 2nd set effort by Tpas…..and smart decision by Rafa to not play Cinncy.
Never write Rafa off! I hope Scoot learns something after this Toronto tournament!
PS. Those two that Scoot had picked to win at Toronto – if not Djoko then A Zverev – both fell before the SF and to the same guy ie Tsitsipas, who lost to non other than Rafa in the final!
Meet the new Dimon. Same as the old Dimon.
#DefinitelyHerbert