Rafael Nadal is reportedly pushing back his return date from injury with a ’90 per cent’ chance he misses the Barcelona Open. The Spaniard has been out of action since suffering an injury at the Australian Open.
He pulled out of both Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami as well as the Monte Carlo Masters for the start of the claycourt season. But Barcelona Open tournament director David Ferrer hinted last month that Nadal would be back in action at the ATP 500 event.
He said: “We still don’t know if he will be in Monte Carlo but he will surely be in Barcelona and will arrive well for the tour on the clay. I have a lot of faith in him. That he physically has not had wear and tear is good.”
Nadal was also included on the entry list for the tournament, but he stated that no confirmation had been made on his participation. “I don’t know who gets this information, but obviously if it were true I would confirm it, but unfortunately I can’t confirm it,” he said.
“I’m following my course and I don’t know when I’ll play again, that’s the truth. I’m in a phase of increasing work. If I knew when I was going to return, I would say so, but I don’t know.”
And it now looks as though Nadal won’t be competing at the Barcelona Open after all with Spanish outlet AS claiming his return is set for the Madrid Open later this month. Nadal is supposedly taking a ‘more prudent and long preparation’ to help him get ready for the French Open.
His ranking has also taken a hit with Nadal said to be slightly ‘affected’ at not being inside the top 10 anymore. But the 36-year-old is supposedly targeting a return in Madrid and Rome to help him best prepare for the French Open.
Both Nadal and Novak Djokovic are level on 22 Grand Slams each after the Serbians win in Australia. The race is now on for the pair of them to finish with the most majors, although Nadal’s fitness has been tested over the past few years.
Djokovic is also back in action this week for the first time since the start of March after being forced to miss both Indian Wells and the Miami Masters. He begins his tournament against No 16 seed Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday with the hope of winning his first Monte Carlo Masters title since 2015.
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