Nadal to miss Madrid Open after recovery setback

Madrid — Rafa Nadal will miss next week’s Madrid Open after a setback in his recovery from a hip injury sustained at the Australian Open in January, the 22-times Major champion said on Thursday.

Nadal skipped tournaments at Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo as well as the Barcelona Open after suffering the injury that effectively ended his Melbourne Park title defence as he fell to a second-round defeat by Mackenzie McDonald.

“Initially it had to be a six to eight week recovery period and we are now on 14,” Nadal said in a video published on his social media account.

“The reality is that the situation is not what we would have expected. All medical indications have been followed, but somehow the evolution has not been what they initially told us and we find ourselves in a difficult situation.

“The weeks are passing and I had the desire of being able to play in tournaments that are the most important in my career such as Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Roland Garros and for the moment I have missed Monte Carlo and Barcelona. I will not be able to be in Madrid unfortunately.”

While the Spaniard, a 14-times French Open champion who has dominated the clay court season for years, still hopes to be fully fit for the Grand Slam starting in May, his statement is not optimistic.

“The injury still hasn’t healed and I can’t work out what I need to compete,” Nadal said.

World No 2 Aryna Sabalenka said beating former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova in the second round of the tune-up event in Stuttgart will boost her preparation for Roland Garros.

Sabalenka defeated Krejcikova 6-2 6-3 in one hour and 15 minutes on Wednesday, becoming the first player to book her spot in the quarterfinals.

The Belarusian said the victory over the 2021 French Open winner handed her a confidence boost ahead of the May 28-June 11 Major on the Parisian clay.

“It’s tough but an interesting challenge to play the first match against a Grand Slam champion,” Australian Open winner Sabalenka, who received a bye in the opening round, said.

“It is something unique like you’re never going to play the first round against a Grand Slam champion in the bigger tournament.

“I think it’s a good preparation before the bigger tournament. You play only tough matches from the first round, so I think it’s a good tournament to play before going into the big tournaments.”

Sabalenka has never reached the second week at the French Open, bowing out in the third round at the last three editions, but the 24-year-old said earlier in the week the Parisian clay was not the problem.

“I was just struggling with the Grand Slams before and it was more about me really wanting to win a Grand Slam and me getting really crazy on matches than something about the clay,” she said.

Reuters