ATP Masters Cincinnati: Rafael Nadal is already training hard on Center Court
After Rafael Nadal had to cancel his participation in Montreal at short notice, things are looking very good with a start at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati.
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit: Aug 13, 2022, 08:15 am
Rafael Nadal is back! The Mallorcan, who tore an abdominal muscle at the Grand Slam tournament in Wimbledon and was unable to compete against Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals, has already arrived at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati. Actually, the 22-time major winner should have started in Montreal this week, but decided at short notice to skip the hard court event in Canada.
Apparently, the Spaniard was not completely pain-free, especially during the service movement, as he also stated at the end of last week: "After training yesterday, I felt a slight pain, which is still there today. We decided not to travel to Montreal, but to continue training - without any pressure. I have no choice but to be careful now and think about my health."
First tournament winner in Cincinnati
The worst concerns have now apparently vanished, as the 36-year-old can already be seen training diligently on the Center Court of the Lindner Family Tennis Center:
Nadal will start ranked number two in the highly paid Masters event in the US state of Ohio. The Russian Daniil Medvedev is the top seed. The "Bull from Manacor" won the tournament in Cincinnati for the time being. In 2013 he prevailed in the final against local hero John Isner 7: 6 (8), 7: 6 (3). The record winner is Roger Federer, who has won a total of seven times in the northeastern state.