From Paris to Prague, this week has already brought mixed fortunes for former and current world No 1s.
Rafael Nadal, who has barely been seen on a tennis court since his semi-final defeat at the French Open, was the bearer of glad tidings, revealing at a sponsor event in the French capital that he hopes to return from injury next month. There was good news too for Novak Djokovic, who made a winning return to action in his first appearance since the US Open.
But Andy Murray suffered a dispiriting defeat at the Paris Masters, squandering seven match points against Germany’s Dominik Koepfer, while Angelique Kerber saw a hard-fought victory over French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova come to nought as Germany fell to a 2-1 defeat against the Czech Republic at the Billie Jean King Cup in Prague.
Nadal, who underwent treatment in Barcelona last month on the recurring foot injury that has curtailed his season, said he intends to play in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, an exhibition event held in Abu Dhabi from 16-18 December, before turning his attention to next year’s Australian Open.
“My plan is to play Abu Dhabi in December and then a tournament in Australia before playing the Australian Open. It is my goal and we are working hard to make it that way,” said Nadal, whose longstanding foot injury caused him visible discomfort at August’s Washington Open, the only event he has played since Roland Garros.
“I don’t know exactly when I’ll be back, but I can say that my goal is to try to come back to Abu Dhabi in December, and then, of course, for the start of the new season in January.
“The injury in my foot still needs to get a little better, but I’m already training almost an hour and a half a day so that’s positive.
“I’m training, I’m feeling better. I’m back on the court.”
While Nadal’s absence from the sport has been down to physical issues, Djokovic has been nursing mental and emotional scars since the US Open final, where his bid to win the grand slam was undone by Daniil Medvedev. But the Serb, who is hoping to end the season as world No 1 for a record seventh time, returned to the fray in Paris-Bercy, teaming up with compatriot Filip Krajinovic to reach the second round of the men’s doubles with a 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 victory over the Australian pair Alex de Minaur and Luke Saville.
Djokovic, who currently shares the record for the most year-end No 1 finishes with Pete Sampras, said on the eve of the tournament that he was heartened by the crowd support he received during his defeat at Flushing Meadows and hoped to finish the season strongly.
“This was not an ordinary loss considering the circumstances,” said Djokovic, who will open his bid for a sixth title in Paris-Bercy against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics, the world No 40. “The season was very draining for me and demanding in every aspect, but I have had similar situations before where I was just super tired, but somehow managed to find the strength to finish the season strong. Hopefully that will be the case again.”
For Murray, however, rest and recovery are the priority after another opening-round epic ended in disappointment. Originally scheduled to play Jenson Brooksby, Murray instead found himself up against lucky loser Koepfer after the American qualifier pulled out at short notice with an injury.
After enduring three-set marathons against Frances Tiafoe and Hubert Hurkacz in recent weeks, Murray might have been forgiven for greeting news of the super-steady Brooksby’s withdrawal with relief. As Mark Petchey, the Scot’s former coach, waggishly observed on social media, Murray’s hip surgeon will have been delighted. “We could have seen the first five-hour match over best of three,” mused Petchey.
Murray, however, was thrust into yet another three-hour struggle. The former world No 1 recovered from a set and a break down against Koepfer to level the match with a run of five games, but missed two match points on the German southpaw’s serve at 5-4 in the decider, and a further five in the climactic tiebreak.
“It was unbelievable,” said Kopefer after his 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (11-9) victory. “I thought I had it in my hands in the second set serving for it at 5-4. He just made a lot of balls, I didn’t make a lot of balls. That was the difference, and it was just a great fight in the third set.”
Murray, who has never before lost a match in such circumstances, said afterwards that he would draw a line under his season after next week’s Stockholm Open.
“I’ve played a lot of tournaments in a row, and played a lot of long matches in those tournaments,” said Murray, who was full of self-recrimination after making 36 unforced errors and landing just 49% of his first serves. “Granted, I have not gone very deep in any of them, but tonight was another three-hour match. I’ll have a chat to the team a little bit about that in the next couple of days, but the plan is to go to Stockholm.
“I might go away for a little bit … I have played a lot of tennis recently, so it would be nice to just be at home and rest and let the body recover a little bit and the mind, as well. And then make a plan for what I do moving forwards.”
There was disappointment too for Kerber, who prevailed 6-7 (5-7), 6-0, 6-4 against Krejcikova to draw Germany level at 1-1 against the Czech Republic in the Billie Jean King Cup, only for Katerina Siniakova and Lucie Hradecka to clinch victory for the home side with a 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 10-8 victory over Anna-Lena Friedsam and Jule Niemeier.
“To be here again, it’s a great feeling,” said Kerber after her win. “We played here the final a few years ago, it was such a great atmosphere, and today the energy on court was amazing.”
In another late finish, Spain saw off Slovakia in an equally tight contest. Carla Suárez Navarro, playing the final event of her career following her recovery earlier this year from Hodgkin lymphoma, was beaten 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 by world No 59 Viktoria Kuzmova before Sara Sorribes Tormo battled for almost three hours to pull Spain level with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. The indefatigable Sorribes Tormo then joined forces with Suárez Navarro to score a decisive 4-6, 6-2, [10-7] victory over Kuzmova and Tereza Mihalikova.
“I am so happy,” said Suárez Navarro. “I lost the singles, but this tie is not only one match. I started again from zero in the doubles. It was really tough, and I had help from Sara, and in the end we won a very difficult tie.
“It is always emotional putting on the Spanish shirt, especially knowing it might be one of the last times I do before I retire. It is one of the best things in our sport to play for your country. I will fight until the end.”