Nadal pulls out of Italian Open as Paris doubts mount

Rafael Nadal
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Rafa Nadal will miss next week’s Italian Open as he has yet to regain full fitness from the hip injury he sustained at January’s Australian Open, casting further doubt over his participation in the French Open.

Nadal, a 14-times Roland Garros champion, skipped the ongoing Madrid Open and has also missed tournaments at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

“I’m very sorry to announce that I will not be able to be in Rome,” the 36-year-old Spaniard, a 10-times champion in Rome, said in a statement.

“You all know how much it hurts to miss another one of the tournaments that have marked my professional and personal career for all the love and support of the Italian tifosi.

“Despite having noticed an improvement in recent days, there have been many months without having been able to train at a high level and the readaptation process has its times and I have no choice but to accept them and continue working.”

Nadal, who has dominated the claycourt season for years, has competed at Roland Garros every year since winning the first of his men’s record 22 major titles in Paris in 2005. The French Open begins on May 28.

He was initially set to miss up to eight weeks after suffering the hip flexor injury in January in his second-round match against Mackenzie McDonald that effectively ended his Melbourne Park title defence.

But a setback in his recovery ahead of the Madrid tournament and his subsequent withdrawal from Rome means that if he is fit in time, Nadal would be heading to Roland Garros without having played any competitive matches.

In March, Nadal slipped out of the top 10 of the ATP ranking for the first time since 2005 and is currently ranked 14. (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

MADRID OPEN

Meanwhile, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz celebrated his 20th birthday by storming into the Madrid Open final with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Borna Coric on Friday to stay on track for his fourth title of the season.

In Monday’s title clash, the top-seeded Spaniard will face off against qualifier Aslan Karatsev or lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff who will contest the other semi-final later in the day.

“It means a lot to me, playing a final again here in Madrid. It’s such a special place for me. I have great memories since I came here to play Under-12s,” Alcaraz said.

“Last year it was amazing. I’ll enjoy the final and try to make all of Spain happy. I don’t think about the pressure here. I just think about playing great matches and getting good results. I enjoy every single second here.”

Alcaraz has enjoyed a spectacular start to his career, becoming the youngest man to top the world rankings after his U.S. Open win last September and has already claimed three Masters 1000 titles as a teenager.

He took a big step towards another Masters crown and stamped his credentials as one of the favourites for this month’s French Open on a warm afternoon at the Manolo Santana Stadium with six-times Roland Garros champion Bjorn Borg watching on.

World number two Alcaraz heaped the pressure on Coric in their first career meeting and faced stiff resistance from the Croatian 17th seed before drawing first blood with a searing forehand in the fifth game of a physical opening set.

After wrapping up the first set on serve, Alcaraz grabbed an early break and raced to a 4-2 lead in the next, dictating terms against a fading Coric.

He swiftly wrapped up his 28th win in 30 matches this year and celebrated by cutting a massive cake on court.

WOMEN’S FINAL

Aryna Sabalenka said she was relishing the challenge of playing Iga Swiatek in Sunday’s Madrid Open final, with revenge on her mind having lost to the world number one in the Stuttgart title clash last month.

Swiatek cruised past Belarusian Sabalenka 6-3 6-4 to win the Stuttgart crown in a repeat of last year’s final to confirm her status as favourite for the French Open later this month.

World number two Sabalenka said she was prepared for another tough battle in the pair’s latest clash, as she bids to improve her 2-5 win-loss record against Swiatek.

“I really want to have this revenge. I think I would just play with more passion. I wouldn’t rush things. I would just go one more time, try better and fight for this title,” Sabalenka said after beating Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-1 in the semi-final.

“It’s really good that we’re playing so consistently so we’re meeting each other in the finals. Hopefully it can be the same. But it’s always tough. You have to fight really hard against Iga and I’m ready for that.”

Sabalenka, whose wins over Swiatek have come in the season-ending WTA Finals in 2021 and 2022, said improving her serve in the last year had given her the confidence that she can defeat the Polish player.

– Reuters