Rafael Nadal has tried to play down ‘false expectations’ of him competing at the US Open this year, after the Spaniard appeared on the entry list earlier this week.
Nadal reached his second ATP quarter-final of the season yesterday after beating Cameron Norrie, 6-4 6-4, in Bastad.
After beating the Brit, Nadal spoke about how he is feeling on court this week in his first tournament since Roland Garros, “I’ve been a while without playing on the Tour since Roland Garros and to have the chance to compete well against a great player like Cameron is a great feeling.”
The 38-year-old continued, “I think I played, for moments, good tennis. For moments, I need to play a little bit more aggressive but it’s part of the journey today.
“I haven’t been competing very often so matches, victories like today helps to be on rhythm the whole match and hold the pressure on the opponent during the whole match. That’s something I need to improve today because I didn’t play enough.”
Speaking later on in the press conference, attention turned to Nadal’s appearance on the US Open entry list via his protected ranking.
Despite appearing on the entry list, the four-time US Open winner claimed that no decision will be made about the New York major until after the Paris Olympics.
“I needed to book to have the chance to decide after that, that’s as simple as that. Nothing changed for me,” explained Nadal. “I’m going to decide what’s going on after Olympics.
“By the way, I will be playing in the Laver Cup but I am, to be clear, and to not create false expectations, I am not sure at all to be in New York or not. No decision today and the decision will not happen before the end of Olympics.”
Before Nadal can think about the US Open, the former No.1 will have the chance to reach his first singles semi-final since Wimbledon 2022 when he takes on fourth seed Mariano Navone in Bastad this afternoon.
Inside the baseline…
As much as it was great to see all the hype surrounding Rafael Nadal’s appearance on the entry list, it is hardly surprising that he is not 100% sure about his participation yet. Nadal also appeared on the entry list for Wimbledon and later withdrew for scheduling reasons. Hopefully Nadal is feeling positive after the Paris Olympics both physically and mentally, increasing his chances of heading to New York for a final farewell at the tournament he has won on four previous occasions.
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