The second seed, Rafael Nadal has decided to withdraw from the Paris Masters ahead of the semifinal due to an abdominal injury he suffered while warming up.
Nadal took the tough decision after getting recommendations from doctors in the tournament.
“I hope I will be ready to appear in London. That’s my biggest goal at the moment, “admitted Nadal.
Nadal stated that when he fired his last few services while warming up, he felt something in his abdominal and after that he immediately went to the doctor at the tournament to be examined. The second test showed that he experienced a slight tension in his abdominal. Nadal then returned to the field to see how he felt after serving, but the pain still persisted.
“We can call it bad luck, we can call it a different thing, but it happened this time. And when something like that happens, the only thing you can do is accept it. And even if it’s a difficult situation for me, I have to keep thinking positive, “Nadal explained.
“Completing a tournament like this is always a negative thing, but other than that, everything that happened during this week has been a very positive thing. I really enjoyed playing here, after quite a while not enjoying the atmosphere like this in this amazing stadium. “
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“I played three amazing matches and I enjoyed my time on the pitch. So, it’s pretty hard to finish this tournament this way. That happened. I have to accept it and recover well, both mentally and physically from it.”
With Nadal’s resignation, his opponent Denis Shapovalov stepped into the final of first Masters 1000 tournament of his career.
“I hope nothing serious. I hope he will soon recover to get down in London, “Shapovalov added.
“I feel he has had an extraordinary season and it would be nice to see him healthy and playing well in London. I think he can play really well there.”
Previously known as the second seed, Rafael Nadal overcame the challenge presented by the host, Jo Wilfried Tsonga. And won in two straight sets to pitch to the semifinals of the Paris Masters.
The 33-year-old Nadal, who could become world number 1 at the end of the season by winning the Paris Masters for the first time in his career, defeated wildcard Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 6-1.
Champion French Open and US Open, Nadal is currently aiming to win the 36th Masters 1000 title in his career. But before that, he had to duel against Denis Shapovalov in the semifinals after the young Canadian tennis player put aside Wilfried Tsonga’s compatriot Gael Monfils in two straight sets.
