Nadal exits, rain saves Medvedev

Rafael Nadal has won in Canada on five different occasions. A sixth win is going to have to wait.

Currently ranked No. 4 in the world, the uber-popular Spaniard was forced to pull out of the National Bank Open in Toronto due to an old foot injury that resurfaced during the French Open and has stubbornly refused to heal in the weeks since.

Nadal, 35, was apologetic about the decision but it was clear to him he could not play with the left foot in its present condition.

“I need to go back and try to find a way to be better again,” Nadal said. “At the end of the day, for me the most important thing is to enjoy playing tennis. Today, with this pain, I am not able to enjoy it and I really don’t believe that I have the chance to fight for the things that I really need to fight.”

Nadal returned to the court last week in Washington but laboured with the injury. He made it to the third round before bowing out to Lloyd Harris in three sets.

Nadal stopped short of saying whether the injury would prevent him from playing in the U.S. Open.

Lucky loser Feliciano Lopez, who failed to qualify originally, will take his place in the draw.

Meanwhile, No. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev, the No. 2 ranked player in the world, looked about as uncomfortable as could be. When he wasn’t barking at his coaches courtside he was going through his bag in search of a racket that would work for him. His opponent in his opening match, Kazakhstan native Alexander Bublik, was only too happy to take advantage, charging out to a first set 6-4 win.

Mother Nature, it turns out, saved Medvedev’s day and likely his tournament as she arrived with a heavy rainstorm early in the second set that gave the Russian favourite a 50-minute break to figure things out.

When he returned it was more the form you would expect from a player of Medvedev’s calibre and Bublik didn’t sniff out even a break point the rest as Medvedev cruised to a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.

“I was not feeling it,” Medvedev said. “I was super disappointed and angry with myself because I had the opportunities. I was really fighting and I know how tournaments can go. You can feel better during the tournament but for this you need to win the first match. When I talked to my coach or whoever in by box, it was that I was not happy with myself, not them.”

Medvedev now advances to take on the winner of No. 16 seed Jannik Sinner and qualifier James Duckworth.