ATP Masters Monte Carlo: Rafael Nadal clarifies training conditions with Medvedev
After his successful start in the ATP Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo, Rafael Nadalexplained what his training with Daniil Medvedev looked like the day before the Russian tested positive for COVID-19.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Apr 15, 2021, 08:14 am
It was the biggest excitement of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo so far: Daniil Medvedev, number two in the tennis world and, accordingly, number two of the clay court classic in the Principality, tested positive for COVID-19. And consequently taken out of the tournament - and sent into isolation. It is now a standard process in an ATP tour at the time of COVID-19.
However, it is far less certain how to deal with the contact persons from the corona cases. At the US Open last year, for example, the two women Kiki Mladenovic and Timea Babos were removed from the tournament as contact persons, and at the Australian Open, all those players who were on flights with positive COVID cases had to go in for almost two weeks a "hard" quarantine.
Nadal trains with Medvedev
In Monte Carlo, however, the procedure is different. Because after Medvedev had tested positive, Rafael Nadal, the man with whom the Russian had unwound a training session the day before, was still in the tournament grid. A clear decision, as the Spaniard now underlines after his opening success. "When I found out he tested positive, I wasn't worried. I was never close to him because we were just training."
Because apart from the training session, the two rivals for second place in the world rankings had little time to exchange ideas, as the Mallorcan emphasized: "I was sorry for him, but these are things that can happen. I was always more than four meters away and was on my feet I just thanked him briefly at the end, "said Nadal, who started the tournament on Wednesday, which he has already won eleven times, with great confidence.
Nadal with a "good start"
The world number three did not last long against his first opponent Federico Delponis, and in the end he only played three games. The 34-year-old doesn't want to speak of a perfect game: "It was a very positive result because he's a good clay court player. It's a positive start, not incredible either, but a good one." In the third round, Grigor Dimitrov is now waiting for the 20-time Grand Slam winner.
#VIDEO#
A player that Nadal also appreciates off the pitch. But also a player against whom the Spaniard had an extremely positive head-to-head, 13 of the previous 14 duels went to the Spaniard. And yet the world number three is aware of the difficulty of the task: "It will be a difficult test for my second match on clay and I have to be prepared for it. Still, I'm excited to play a complex match early in the tournament."