RAFAEL NADAL WITHDRAWS FROM CINCINNATI MASTERS

Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from next week’s Western and Southern Open due to his ongoing left foot injury, the tournament announced on Wednesday.

The Spanish superstar on Tuesday has already pulled out of the Rogers Cup ahead of his second-round match against Lloyd Harris. Nadal’s left foot injury forced him to miss Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics too. The legendary lefty returned last week at the Citi Open in Washington, where he battled through his opening match against Jack Sock in a final-set tie-break before losing against South African Lloyd Harris in three sets in the third round. Nadal, who lifted the Cincinnati trophy in 2013, is 24-5 this season with titles in Barcelona and Rome. Daniil Medvedev, who won the 2019 Western & Southern Open when it was last held in Cincinnati, will be the tournament’s top men’s seed as the No. 2 player in the ATP Rankings. He will be joined by two-time champion Andy Murray (2011, 2008) as well as past winners Marin Cilic (2016) and Grigor Dimitrov (2017). The women’s field includes defending champion and two-time winner Victoria Azarenka (2020, 2013) along with past champions Karolina Pliskova (2016), Garbine Muguruza (2017), and Madison Keys (2019).

Canadian Milos Raonic also withdrew due to a heel injury. Last year, the former World No. 3 made the final of the Western & Southern Open, which was held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York due to the COVID-19 pandemic.