Nadal withdraws from Montreal Championships in preparation for US Open

Rafael Nadal announced this Friday (5) his withdrawal from preparations for next week's US Open, in Montreal, Canada, after the same abdominal strain forced him to miss last month's Wimbledon semifinals.

World number 3 Nadal's efforts to win every major on the calendar came to an end after he withdrew from his much-anticipated clash with Australian Nick Kyrgios less than 24 hours before the match.

Nadal holds 22 Grand Slam titles and is five-times champion of the Montreal ATP 1000 event, which starts this Monday (8).

“I've been training without serving for a while and started serving four days ago. Everything went well, but yesterday, after my normal training, I felt a slight discomfort in my abdomen, which is still there to this day,” Nadal said in a statement. middle statement. “After talking to my doctor, we preferred to be conservative and put in a few more days before starting the race.” “I really regret not being able to go to Montreal for a race that I have won five times and I love that. I sincerely hope I can get back there and play in front of an amazing crowd.”

Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic also withdrew on Thursday because he could not enter the country without a full Covid-19 vaccination, while Britain's Andy Murray received four of the invites.