Rafael Nadal on Andy Murray’s Singles Return: “Good News for the Sport”

Former World No.1, Andy Murray announced on Friday that he will be returning to the singles event next week at the ATP Cincinnati Masters.  Rafael Nadal, who reached the semifinals of the Montreal Open 2019 on Friday, was delighted to hear Murray’s comeback in the singles competition.

Seven months after undergoing surgery on his hip, Murray feared that his career might end but he returned to the doubles event at the Queen’s Club Championships in June. However, he has been practicing his singles in order to regain his fitness in time to play at Cincinnati as a preparation for the US Open.

Rafael Nadal talked about Andy Murray’s return to the singles event in the post-match press conference at the Rogers Cup 2019 on Friday. The Spaniard was happy to see him back healthy. He said, “Good news for the sport. Especially great news for him. That means that he’s healthy.”

Rafael Nadal further suggested that being back on the tour to play singles after undergoing a surgery itself is a big thing for the Scott. He continued, “That’s going to be a big, big moment for him. After all the retirement that he predicted in Australia, was this year – yeah? – six months later seems like he’s back again, healthy, competing well. That’s going to be a big thing for him. Happy.”

Andy Murray has dropped to the world No. 325 in the ATP rankings following his operation in January to resurface his hip after the Australian Open 2019. The 32-year-old was in doubts whether he could play a singles match or not.

However, the Scotsman accepted the wild card entry into the Cincinnati Open. The 3-time Grand Slam champion is scheduled to play against the veteran Frenchman, Richard Gasquet in the first round of the Western & Southern Open 2019. Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray are on the same half of the draw and can face each other after three years in the semifinals.