Rafael Nadal’s hopes of competing at the French Open are hanging by a thread after the 14-time champion announced his withdrawal from the Rome Masters, the final warm-up event before the tour moves to Paris later this month.
Nadal, who has been sidelined by injury since tearing his psoas muscle during a defeat to Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open in January, said in a statement on social media that although his condition has improved in recent days, he is not yet ready to return to the match court.
The 36-year-old, who first won at Roland Garros on his debut in 2005 and has not missed an edition of the tournament since, now faces the unprecedented prospect of contesting the tournament without a competitive clay-court match under his belt – if he makes it all.
“I am very sorry to announce that I will not be able to be in Rome,” wrote the Spaniard, who has won 10 titles in the Italian capital.
“You all know how much it hurts me to miss another of the tournaments that has been so important to me, both professionally and personally, because of all the affection and support of the Italian fans.
“Despite having noticed an improvement in the last few days, it has been many months since I’ve been able to train at a high level and the adaptation process takes time. All that is left for me to do is accept it and keep working.”
When Nadal suffered the injury in mid-January, it seemed unimaginable he would find himself in this position almost four months later. The initial prognosis suggested he would be out for up to eight weeks, leaving him touch and go for the sunshine swing of Indian Wells and Miami, but almost certain to return in time for the start of the European clay-court season. Instead, he has been forced to pull out of events in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid and now Rome. In the past, all have been key staging posts for Nadal on the road to glory in Paris.
Mention of an improvement in his condition is encouraging, given that Nadal had previously said his hip was not healing as expected. But even if the 22-time grand slam champions able to mount a title defence at Roland Garros, the effects of his inactivity could be compounded by his recent drop in the rankings. Currently 14th, he could face the likes of Novak Djokovic or Carlos Alcaraz as early as round four.
Meanwhile Alcaraz, the world No 2, further underlined his credentials as the heir apparent to Nadal with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Croatia’s Borna Coric at the Madrid Open. The Spaniard, who was presented with a cake in honour of his 20th birthday afterwards, now stands within one win of becoming the first man since Nadal to successfully defend the Madrid title.
“It means a lot to me, playing a final again here in Madrid,” said Alcaraz, who defeated Nadal and Djokovic on the way to last year’s title win. “It’s such a special place for me and I have great memories since I came here to play [as an] under-12. Of course, last year was amazing.
“Turning 20 like that is special, so I will enjoy the final here and of course I will try to make all of Spain happy.”
To do so, he will need to find a way past Jan-Lennard Struff, the German world No 65, who fought back from a set down to avenge his qualifying defeat to Russia’s Aslan Karatsev. Struff, whose path to a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory was eased as Karatsev laboured with a thigh injury in the closing stages, becomes the first lucky loser to reach a Masters 1000 final.
“It’s an incredible journey,” said Struff. “I wouldn’t have thought about this when I lost the match against Aslan in qualies. It just feels incredible, it’s my second final on the ATP Tour and it’s just amazing it’s at a Masters.”