Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the Toronto Masters, citing a left foot injury. It’s no secret that Nadal has been suffering with this injury since the French Open, where he suffered a crushing loss to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. Despite showing some good signs at the Citi Open in Washington last week, Nadal suffered a shock loss to Lloyd Harris and was clearly uncomfortable throughout.
Rafael Nadal Withdraws From Rogers Cup
Nadal was due to play South African Lloyd Harris, whom he lost to last week at the Citi Open. Nadal came through a tough encounter with a resurgent Jack Sock in the first round in Washington and seemed to be finding his way back to competitive tennis. However, Nadal then faced an in-form Lloyd Harris who was playing some fantastic aggressive tennis, and bowed out in three sets.
Though Nadal was clearly not close to his best, it was a step in the right direction towards the US Open, where he has won the title four times. It was a disappointing loss for Nadal and certainly a match that he’d usually expect to win. However, his fitness issues and his extended break from tennis clearly proved to be too much.
“I really wanted to play here a lot, but now is the moment to make a decision, and this is unfortunately the decision that I have taken."
Rafael Nadal has unfortunately has to withdraw from #NBO21 due to left foot injury. pic.twitter.com/XsU3Ns7pnC
— National Bank Open (@NBOtoronto) August 10, 2021
Nadal withdrew before his second matchup with Harris due to his left foot.
The Spaniard now faces a race against time in the lead up to the US Open, where he will have to be at his absolute best if he intends to win a fifth title. Nadal has often defied some of his critics who claim he is just a clay court specialist by winning in New York. If healthy, this year he certainly has a good chance of doing it once again.
Nadal is no stranger to injuries, They have often plagued his career, but he has constantly proved he is one of the best sportsmen of all time at fighting back from these setbacks.
Though it’s a great shame that he won’t be competing for the title in Canada, this hopefully means that Nadal will be as fit as possible when competing for the final Grand Slam of the year.
Main Photo from Getty.
