How Can Rafael Nadal Prevent Himself From Falling on the ATP Ladder at Washington’s Citi Open 2021?

World No.3 Rafael Nadal will return to the court tomorrow at the Citi Open 2021. He’ll be making a comeback on the court after about two months, and thus, fans seem quite excited about his return. Interestingly, it is for the first time in his career that the Spaniard is playing at this tennis event.

The Citi Open 2021 is not just a warm-up tournament for Rafael Nadal ahead of the US Open 2021. It can also bring a drastic change in his ATP Ranking if he fails to succeed there.

Rafa needs to win five matches in order to lift his maiden Citi Open title this year. Similarly, to remain on the No.3 spot in the ATP Rankings, he also needs to win all five matches; he needs to win the tournament.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is currently at the No.4 position with 8,115 points while Rafa has 8,270 points. If the 20-time Grand Slam champion fails to win the tournament and ends up even as the runner-up, he’ll fall behind the Greek player and will be out of the list of the top three players.

Interestingly, if he loses in the very first round against Jack Sock, Rafa will lose 500 points and will only have 7,720 points against his name.

Thus, the Citi Open 2021 is an important tournament for the Spaniard. Will he be able to win his first tournament in Washington this year?

Watch This Story: How Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, and Others Travel

Rafael Nadal at the 2021 tennis season

The Spaniard has had quite a topsy-turvy season so far. Even though he has won two titles this season, including a Masters 1000 tournament, he hasn’t been able to get his hands on a Grand Slam this year.

Rafa once again showed great temperament on clay as he bagged his 12th Barcelona Open title and then achieved his ‘La Decima’ at the Italian Open 2021. However, he failed to defend his French Open title as he lost to World No.1 Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.

He then took a break from tennis and skipped the Wimbledon Championships 2021 and the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Fans seem quite exhilarated about Rafa’s comeback at the Citi Open 2021. He needs to regain his form and momentum before the upcoming hard-court season. Will he be able to succeed at the US Open 2021?

Also Read: Citi Open 2021: Rafael Nadal vs. Jack Sock Preview, Head-to-Head, & Prediction