Nadal Pulls Out Of Paris With An Ab Injury, Djokovic To Return To No. 1
The No. 1 race this week at the Paris Masters is already over. Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the final Masters event of the season due to an ab injury, and that means with Novak Djokovic already winning yesterday, the Serb will return to No. 1 on Monday.
“It was great to be here in Paris for a couple of days and practice with the guys,” said Nadal who hasn’t played since the US Open. “I enjoyed it, I felt in terms of tennis better than one week ago. But in the past few days, I started to feel a little bit abdominal, especially when I was serving. I checked with the doctor and he said that he recommended to not play, because if I continued the abdominal may break and could become a major thing. And I really don’t want that.”
Djokovic, who was ranked down at No. 22 in June, last held the top spot on November 6, 2016. But he could still lose at the ATP Finals next month, if Rafa is able to play.
“I would love to be in London, of course,” said Nadal. “But the most important thing for me is to be healthy and have the chance to compete weeks in a row.”
The top-seeded Nadal, who has never won the Paris Indoors, was set to face countryman Fernando Verdasco today. He’ll be replaced by lucky loser Malek Jaziri.
Nadal has held the top spot for 19 straight weeks since June 25, and 196 weeks overall.
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