By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, October 31, 2018
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal withdrew from the Rolex Paris Masters citing a strained abdominal muscle that limited his ability to serve.
Photo credit: Christopher Levy
Rafael Nadal's reign as No. 1 will soon be done.
The 11-time Roland Garros champion withdrew from the Rolex Paris Masters today citing a strained abdominal muscle prior to his scheduled opener vs. compatriot Fernando Verdasco.
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Nadal's withdrawal means second-ranked Novak Djokovic will surpass the top-seeded Spaniard regaining the world No. 1 ranking on Monday.
"The last few days I start to feel a little bit the abdominal, especially when I was serving," Nadal told the media in Paris. "And I was checking with the doctor and the doctor says that is recommended to not play, because if I continue the abdominal maybe can break and can be a major thing, and I really don't want that.
"It have been a tough year for me since that moment in terms of injuries so I want to avoid drastic things. And if maybe I can play today, but the doctor says if I want to play the tournament, I want to try to win the tournament, the abdominal with break for sure. So will be not fair and not good for me and for nobody to go inside the court knowing that probably the full tournament will not be possible to play."
Nadal arrived in Paris knowing he needed to defeat Verdasco to have a shot at retaining the top spot.
The 32-year-old Nadal was set to play his first match since September 7th when he retired with a right knee injury in the US Open semifinals against Juan Martin del Potro.
Instead, the 17-time Grand Slam champion met with the media to explain his abdominal issue.
Photo credit: Christopher Levy
Nadal said the strained abdominal inhibits his service motion and while he would not call it "a real injury" he felt if he played, persistent abdominal pain could escalate into "a real injury."
"I don't know if we can talk about a real injury," Nadal said. "I can talk about a pain that bothers me every time that I serve. It would not be fair to say it's a real injury today but what is sure, if I continue it will be a real injury. So that's the point.
"As you know, when you come back after injuries, and you push a little bit the body at the beginning, some issues can happen. And that's a possibility. I pushed to be here, but in the normal way... I didn't make something too quick or something bad to be here. No, I did the normal process.
"But when I arrived here, I played with the professional players, I practiced with all of them. I feel that the abdominal was every day a little bit more charged. I don't know how to say. So it bothers me for the serve."
The abdominal issue combined with the fact Nadal has not completed a match since September puts his status for next month's Nitto ATP Finals in serious jeopardy.
Asked if he will play London, Nadal replied: "I am very sorry but I cannot answer you."
"In terms of this kind of a stuff, I have to be checking daily about things how it improves," Nadal said. "But as I said hundreds of times, I would love to be in London of course. But the most important thing for me is to be healthy, be healthy and have the chance to compete weeks in a row. Something that I was not able to do this year, playing only nine events and retiring in two. So that's the real point.
"I have to think little bit at the longer term. Today, I want to keep playing tennis for a couple of years. And thinking that way, I have to do the logical things, and the logical thing today is not play here. And talk about London, the logical thing is don't have a clear answer right now."
A year ago, Nadal made history as the oldest ATP year-end No. 1 then closed the curtain on his 2017 season after bowing to David Goffin in his London opener.
Shortly after Nadal's departure from the draw, Milos Raonic pulled out of his scheduled night match vs. Roger Federer.
The third-seeded Swiss moved into a round of 16 meeting vs. Fabio Fognini, who received a walkover courtesy of Marton Fucsovics.