Rafael Nadal Withdraws From Western and Southern Open 2019

The eighteen time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal defeated the next-gen player, Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-0 at the Montreal Open 2019 finals on Sunday. The Spaniard defended the first-ever non-clay title of his career at the Rogers Cup 2019. He also claimed the 35th ATP Masters 1000 title, extending his all-time lead over the world No.1, Novak Djokovic.

Rafael Nadal suggested that he was unsure to play the Western and Southern Open 2019 before coming to Montreal. The 33-year-old was still in doubts about his participation at the Cincinnati Open 2019 after his finals of Sunday. In the on-court post-match interview, Rafael Nadal spoke about the Cincinnati Masters which is scheduled to start from Monday. He said, “I don’t know. I will sit with my team and decide.”

Few hours after he lifted the Rogers Cup title, Nadal announced that he will skip the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati to focus on the US Open preparations. The Mallorcan wrote on social media, “I am very sorry to announce that I won’t be playing in Cincinnati this year.”

Nadal also revealed that he has to take care of his body and be healthy at the US Open 2019, which is scheduled to start from the last week of August. He further continued, “No other reason than personally taking care of my body and trying to keep as healthy as I feel now.

Nadal said he explained his position to  Cincinnati tournament director Andre Silva, who, he revealed, understood. The Spaniard also wished him luck. “I’m sure the tournament will be a success and I wish him and his team all the best,” Nadal said.

Nadal was the No.2 seed at the Cincinnati Open with Novak Djokovic the No.1 seed and Roger Federer the No.3. His withdrawal from the event left the draw extremely one-sided with Djokovic and Federer in the same half of the draw.