World No.2 Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the Brisbane International following medical advice after an MRI scan revealed a ‘small strain’ concerning his left thigh.
Nadal was set to be the top seed in Brisbane this week. It is understood that his decision to withdraw from the event was to prevent aggravating the injury ahead of the Australian Open. Following his latest withdrawal, Nadal has been only able to complete one out of the past 18 hard court tournaments he has entered into. He has either withdrawn or retired from those events. The only exception was the Rogers Cup, which he won back in August.
“I did an MRI and it shows a small strain on my left thigh. I tried to play, I wanted to play, but recommendations from the doctors (were otherwise).” Nadal said in a press conference.
“It’s a small thing that can become a much bigger… when you compete the intensity on the muscle it can get worse,” he added.
“I feel better than I did four days ago… It’s a risk to damage my body for one month if I play here”
The Spaniard hasn’t played on the tour since the US Open after being sidelined from action due to both knee and abdominal problems. Then in November Nadal underwent a small operation on his right ankle to ease some discomfort he had been experiencing.
At the recent Mubadala World Tennis Championships, the 32-year-old skipped the third place play-off in order to ‘rest his body.’ Earlier this week, Nadal insisted that he have a few more years left on the tour despite his series of injury woes.
“I really believe that I have a lot of tennis to play in my career, and I really feel that my body is not going worse every year,” he told reporters on January 1st.
“Accidents happen. I had the problem at the Australian Open … [and] with my knees in the US Open but the knees [problem] will always be there – that’s not new for me.”
Nadal’s decision comes after he said he plans to play to a reduced schedule. Focusing on quality instead of quantity. In 2018 he played in nine tournaments, but withdrew from two of those. In the other seven, he won five titles (four on clay and one on hard court).
“After the surgeries, I don’t want to step back. I want to move forward,” he said. “After all I suffered last year in terms of injuries, I don’t want to do mistakes in terms of playing without being 100 percent.”
After withdrawing from #BrisbaneTennis, Rafael Nadal says he can't thank his fans enough for all their support: "I know it's tough. … I can't thank enough the people who support me in my career — especially the tough moments." pic.twitter.com/s2b6oG7I88
— Brisbane International (@BrisbaneTennis) January 2, 2019
Replacing Nadal in the main draw will be lucky loser Taro Daniel. The Japanese player will take on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round.
