Rafael Nadal confirms intention to make US Open return this year
Rafael Nadal is on the entry list for the US Open this year, appearing just hours after the Spaniard made a winning return to singles action.
Nadal had not played a singles match since losing in the first round of Roland Garros to Alexander Zverev, electing to skip Wimbledon with the Paris Olympics in mind.
And the 38-year-old is competing in both singles and doubles, alongside Casper Ruud, at the ATP 250 clay court event in Bastad this week.
On Monday Nadal and Ruud beat second seeds Guido Andreozzi and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela, followed by the former making a winning start to his singles campaign against Leo Borg (the son of 11-time Grand Slam singles champion Bjorn Borg) on Tuesday.
After picking up a straight sets win, Nadal spoke about how he felt in only his sixth tournament of 2024, “Great feelings. It’s true that there have been some on and off conditions in terms of weather, but we are lucky that we have been able to play the whole match without rain today. I’m happy for that.”
The last time that Nadal played in Bastad was back in 2005, when he won the singles title, and the former No.1 joked that he is the defending champion this year.
“I’m defending the title,” joked Nadal. “Playing in front of a full crowd like this means a lot to me. It gives me energy to keep practicing every day. Even in the tougher moments, I have been able to keep going with the help of the team.
“The fans have a huge impact on that. They give me an amazing energy. Today, I have to say thank you very much to the Spanish followers here, but especially the Swedish, since I haven’t been able to play here since a long time ago.”
Later on in the day the US Open entry list was released, with Nadal appearing using his protected ranking of No.9.
Four-time champion, Rafael Nadal, is on the US Open entry list with a protected ranking 🏆
One last dance at Flushing Meadows 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Cg5wL0lu7w
— Eurosport (@eurosport) July 17, 2024
The last time that Nadal played at the New York major was back in 2022, losing in the fourth round to American Frances Tiafoe.
Nadal is one of six men’s singles players currently in the US Open main draw via a protected ranking, alongside compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta, Denis Shapovalov, Reilly Opelka, Soonwoo Kwon and Dominic Stricker.
Before the four-time tournament champion can think about the US Open, Nadal will play his second round doubles match with Ruud later today, ahead of playing his second singles match against Brit Cameron Norrie tomorrow.
Inside the baseline…
At this stage of his career, it is always great to see Rafael Nadal on a tennis court, particularly the clay where he has been so dominant over the years. It was a very comfortable victory for Nadal over youngster Leo Borg, but he will face a much sterner test against British No.2 Cameron Norrie tomorrow. Although it is just an initial entry list for the time being, it is also great to see Nadal intending to return to the US Open, where he has been the champion on four previous occasions.
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