World #3 Rafael Nadal accepted a wild card into the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. where he will begin his hard court season. For the first time, the tournament will be held from August 2-8.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very excited to come to Washington for the first time,\u201d Nadal said<\/a>. \u201cI have never been there and it\u2019s one more place I wanted to come and play. I am looking forward to playing again and Washington shall be the best start for the U.S. Summer Swing for me. Looking forward to seeing again my US fans that I haven\u2019t seen since I won the 2019 US Open in NYC!. Vamos!\u201d<\/p>\n The Spaniard will compete in an action packed draw that includes top players such as Felix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapavalov, Nick Kyrigos, Hurbert Huzkacz<\/a>, and many more.<\/p>\n The World #3 will compete in his first tournament in the United States since defeating Daniil Medvedev in a five-set thriller<\/a> at the 2019 US Open. Nadal will try to regain his confidence and practice ahead of\u00a0New York, where he will once again attempt to break Roger Federer\u2019s all time grand slam record. Nadal\u2019s record bid at Roland Garros was thwarted in the semifinals by Novak Djokovic in a tight four-set battle<\/a>. Following his shocking defeat in Paris, Nadal withdrew from Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics<\/a>, stating that he needed to give his body rest to compete at his highest level.<\/p>\n Hi all, I have decided not to participate at this year\u2019s Championships at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in Tokyo. It\u2019s never an easy decision to take but after listening to my body and discuss it with my team I understand that it is the right decision<\/p>\n — Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 17, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n