The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Nadal pulls out of Tour Finals
Tennis: World No 1 withdraws from London event after loss to Goffin
Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the ATP Finals after being severely hampered by his knee injury during a three-set defeat to David Goffin.
Goffin beat the limping world No 1 7-6 (7/5) 6-7 (4/7) 6-4 at London’s O2 Arena last night and, after the match, Nadal announced he would be pulling out of the tournament.
It is the sixth time Nadal has withdrawn from this competition in 13 years of qualifying and he will now be replaced by fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.
Nadal’s problematic right knee had forced him out of the Paris Masters earlier this month and there was always a question mark over whether he would be fit enough to play at this event.
The 31-year-old fought hard against Goffin and saved four match points in the second set, but he was visibly wincing in the decider when he appeared to be running almost on heart alone.
“I am off. My season is finished,” Nadal said less than half an hour after his match had concluded.
“I tried hard. I did the thing that I had to do to try to be ready to play. But I am really not ready to play, no?
“I really fought a lot during the match but knew that there was probably a big chance to be the last match of the season.”
Grigor Dimitrov overcame a bout of beginner’s nerves to mark his Finals debut with a three-set win over Dominic Thiem.
Dimitrov surrendered a one-set lead and then needed two chances to serve for victory in the decider before edging past the talented Thiem 6-3 5-7 7-5.
Meanwhile Jamie Murray’s Finals bid began in defeat yesterday as he and partner Bruno Soares were beaten in a match tie-break by American duo Mike and Bob Bryan.
Murray and Soares trailed their distinguished opponents by a set and 4-1 at the O2 Arena, although only after a dramatic collapse that saw them spurn three set points and a 5-3 lead.
They fought back to take the second set but a topsy-turvy contest turned again in the deciding tie-break as the Bryans recovered to win 7-5 6-7 (3/7) 10-8.
Murray, sporting a Union Jack wristband, is the only British representative here while his younger brother Andy remains out injured and, but for a sudden lapse in concentration, this was a match he and Soares should have won.
Defeat leaves Murray and Soares with work to do to qualify from their group, which also includes Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers, and Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo.
“We had it on our racket in a way, then we let it slip,” Murray said.
First up today is Marin Cilic – who lost to Alexander Zverev in his opener on Sunday – and American Jack Sock before Federer, who is bidding for a record-stretching seventh ATP Finals crown, takes on Zverev in the evening clash