“I don’t know when I’m gonna back!” Rafael Nadal’s participation at the Laver Cup is uncertain after his fourth-round defeat at US Open
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Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal received the biggest upset of this year and faced his first loss at the Grand Slams after he was defeated by Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round of the 2022 US Open in a four-set game 4-6,6-4,4-6,3-6 that lasted for three hours and thirty-four minutes of play. Coming into the match, Nadal has a 22-0 match winning streak at the Grand Slam but his winning streak broke after he lost to Tiafoe who was the better player of the day.
Nadal looked lost in the starting set and soon had gone for a bathroom break that exceeded the allocated time limit. He bounced back brilliantly to win in the second set but soon the Spaniard lost control over the match. With this loss, Tiafoe became the first man to defeat Nadal in a major since Novak Djokovic had defeated him in 2021 at the French Open and also ended his quest for his fifth US Open title and 23rd singles Grand Slam title overall.
It was the first time Rafael Nadal was defeated by Tiafoe as the American struck 49 winners and 18 aces to seal the match and turn the tables in his favor and hand the 22-time singles champion the biggest heartbreak. With this, Nadal’s chances of becoming the world number 1 have taken a major hit if either Carlos Alcaraz or Casper Ruud makes it to the finals.
“Have no idea about my schedule!” Rafael Nadal doubtful about his comeback to the Tour after his loss at US Open
Nadal, during his post-match interview after the defeat at the US Open revealed about the uncertainty about his comeback. He also stated that there are some things that needed to be taken care of apart from his game and it is of much priority. He is uncertain about his comeback to the ATP Tour, especially with the Laver Cup starting in a few weeks’ time. He said “I need to go back, fix things and I don’t know when I’m gonna come back. When I feel ready mentally to compete again… I will do it. I have no idea about my schedule at the moment. “
Nadal has been dealing with challenges on the personal front after his wife Maria was admitted to a hospital in Mallorca owing to complications in her pregnancy. He even added that “I need to go back home. I have more important things than tennis. There are more important things related to my personal life at home now. My personal life is always been much more important than my job. It’s time to reset. It’s been some tough months. Tennis is a sport of position a lot of times. If not you need to be or very quick or very young.“
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)