Nadal is playing in Madrid - US Open with it?
Will tennis superstar Rafael Nadal play the US Open or will he not play this year? With his commitment to the Madrid Open, doubts are increasing as to whether the 34-year-old Spaniard is defending his title in New York. The event in the Spanish capital begins on September 14, one day after the US Open finale.
by SID / red
last edit: Jul 07, 2020, 07:07 pm
Madrid's tournament director Feliciano Lopez reported on Tuesday on Nadal's pledge. Number two in the world replied: "See you in Madrid in September." Last year Nadal had reached the semi-finals in the Caja Magical, which failed due to Stefanos Tsitsipas .
The tournament also serves as preparation for the French Open in Paris, which will start on September 27th. Nadal has won the world's most important clay court event twelve times. With a triumph this year, he could catch up with record holder Roger Federer (20 titles) after Grand Slam successes. The pressure to defend the 2,000 points earned last year in New York City was taken away from Nadal with the ranking regulation that ATP announced on Monday. Accordingly, all points earned in the previous year are automatically counted on. Unless a player improves compared to 2019 - then he gets more points in the rating.
Most recently, Nadal's uncle and longtime coach Toni had already indicated that Nadal will probably not defend his two titles at the US Open and French Open: "The schedule is unrealistic, especially for experienced players who cannot compete for so many weeks in a row." Dominic also agreed with this opinion on Tuesday in Kitzbühel: It was almost impossible to successfully contest both events, the Austrian explained after his success against Casper Ruud at the invitation tournament Thiem's 7. He would probably be in New York and at the Try the French Open - but probably don't start in Madrid.
Roger Federer is guaranteed not to be at the start after his knee operations. Novak Djokovic has not yet finally declared himself.