Nadal exits, rain saves Medvedev
TORONTO 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 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 stopped short of saying whether the injury would prevent him from taking part in the U.S. Open later this month.
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.
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 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.
“I'm happy I managed to turn around my game after the rain. I didn't do anything specific, but just started feeling the ball better and had more opportunities to win the match.”
In addition to the win and moving on in the tournament, Medvedev is fully expecting another take-away from this match in the form of a fine.
An exchange with the match umpire is probably going to cost Medvedev some money after he questioned and even scolded the chair umpire after she took a point away from him for apologizing mid-smash to his opponent who had fallen, but somehow still returned the ball to Medvedev, who was waiting at the net.
Medvedev now advances to take on the winner of No. 16 seed Jannik Sinner and qualifier James Duckworth.