“Things are better than before” Rafael Nadal looking forward to the 2021 Mubadala World Tennis Championship
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Rafael Nadal
World No. 6 on the ATP Tour, Rafael Nadal is set to return to tennis action at the upcoming 3-day tournament, the 2021 Mubadala World Tennis Championship where is a 5-time champion and is also the defending champion. Nadal will be playing his first match since his defeat at the 2021 Washington Open post which he withdrew from the subsequent tournaments before ending his season.
Nadal had injured his foot at the 2021 French Open and did not play during the grass season and also withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics this year to nurse his injury and be prepared to play the US Open leg series. but he injured his foot again during his two matches at the Washington Open and had to end his season with a 24-5 record for the season.
With an eye on the 2022 Australian summer, Nadal will be travelling to Abu Dhabi where he can test his preparations for Australia. “Abu Dhabi is a test. I don’t know what will happen afterwards. Things are better than before otherwise I would not plan to come back to Abu Dhabi,” said Nadal about his plan to play in Abu Dhabi, having already finished his season earlier.
Rafael Nadal opts out of national duty at the 2022 ATP Cup
Nadal won his first title in Abu Dhabi in 2010 and defended it again in 2011. Nadal won his third title in 2015 and defended it in 2016 once again. He won his 5th and last title in 2019, overtaking Novak Djokovic‘s tally of 4 titles. Despite being the most successful player at the tournament, he is also the oldest champion having won the title in 2019 at the age of 33 years, 6 months and 21 days.
Despite planning to play in Abu Dhabi, Nadal has decided to withdraw his name from the 2022 ATP Cup in order to remain fit for the next tournaments in Australia. This will be his first absence from the ATP Cup after having led Spain to a runners-up finish in the inaugural edition in 2020 and a semi-final finish at the 2021 ATP Cup.
The Mubadala World Tennis Championships will be played between 16th to 18th December 2021.
Also Read: REVEALED! Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz earn nominations for the year-end ATP Awards
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)