Despite his record-breaking career Rafael Nadal hasn’t had the best of luck when it comes to closing out a season on the Tour.
Various injury issues has resulted in the Spaniard only being able to play at the Paris Masters in three out of the past six years. Although in two out of those three appearances in 2017 and 2019 he withdrew injured midway through the tournament. Ironically Nadal’s misfortunes occur in the same city where he has won a historic 13 French Open titles on the clay. Despite the disappointments could 2020 by Nadal’s year at the Masters 1000 event which is played at the AccorHotels Arena in Bercy?
“It is true that, of course, at the end of the year in the past I arrived sometimes very tired physically and sometimes mentally, too,” Nadal told reporters on Sunday.
“At the same time on indoor courts I need to be fresh, I need to be in full conditions. It is probably the surface that I need to be playing better to try to have success.”
It has been 13 years since Nadal contested a final in Bercy in what was the only occasion he has done so. Although the 34-year-old is also a three-time semi-finalist, including last year. Despite his mishaps at the tournament, Nadal insists that the possibility of getting injured is the last thing on his mind.
“When I go to a tournament, I don’t think about this kind of stuff because if I think that way I would not be playing,” He explained.
“So when I go to a tournament, I just focus on trying to play my best tennis. Not worry about if I got injured in the past that can happen again.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic forcing professional men’s tennis to take a five-month break earlier this year, Nadal has only played five tournaments where he has achieved a win-loss record of 22-4. Besides the French Open, he also won a title in Mexico during the first week of March.
The light schedule undoubtedly had both negatives and positives. For Nadal he and others were unable to maintain a consistent rate of match play throughout the year but at the same time he had enough time to rest his body. Raising the question about if he is tempted to continue a restricted playing schedule when the calendar returns back to its normal routine?
“I like to play tennis, so I like to play a little bit more than two tournaments every six or seven months,” he joked.
“This year worked well. It was not the ideal situation. Of course normally I like to play a little bit more before important tournaments but not because of the important tournament.’
“I hope next year we can have a more usual calendar and I can play some more tennis.”
Bercy isn’t the only big tournament where Nadal is yet to claim a title. Another is the season-ending ATP Finals that will take place at The O2 in London for the final time before relocating to Italy. His best performance was settling for runner-up twice with the most recent occurring back in 2013.
“At the World Finals I have been there a lot of times in the semifinals and final a couple of times,” Nadal reflected.
“It’s a tough tournament to win, playing against the best players in the world under difficult circumstances.’
“I’m going to keep trying my best as I did all my tennis career and I hope to give myself a chance.”
Nadal’s record at the Paris Masters and ATP Finals
| Year | Bercy (Masters 1000) | ATP Finals |
| 2006 | — | SF |
| 2007 | RU | SF |
| 2008 | QF | — |
| 2009 | SF | RR |
| 2010 | — | RU |
| 2011 | — | RR |
| 2012 | — | — |
| 2013 | SF | RU |
| 2014 | — | — |
| 2015 | QF | SF |
| 2016 | — | — |
| 2017 | QF | RR |
| 2018 | — | — |
| 2019 | SF | RR |
| TOTAL WIN/LOSS | 19/5 | 18/14 |
