US Open tennis: 'I'm concerned' - Corretja reacts to 'shocking news' of Rafael Nadal withdrawing from US Open
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Updated 20/08/2021 at 13:04 GMT
"Since he pulled out of Toronto and Cincinnati we were wondering if he was going to be okay for the US Open," Corretja told Eurosport. "Unfortunately, it's not the case. It's shocking news, because of course we want Rafa to play in New York. But he is not 100 per cent and able to play. What is concerning me a little bit is that he pulled out of Wimbledon, the Olympics and now the US Open."
'I'm concerned' - Corretja reacts to 'shocking news' of Nadal withdrawing from US Open
Eurosport expert Alex Corretja has given his reaction to the 'shocking news' of Rafael Nadal withdrawing from the US Open, and says he is 'concerned'.
Nadal has become the latest big name to announce his withdrawal from the 2021 US Open - and the remainder of the season - as the Spaniard continues to struggle with a foot injury.
It appeared telling that the Spaniard entered the 2021 Balearic Golf Championship, which runs just a week before the US Open, and it is now clear that he was simply unable to shake off the issues with his left foot.
The 35-year-old had already disclosed that he had sustained the latest version of the injury at the French Open in June and aggravated it during a second-round win over Jack Sock in Washington. He had been attempting to recuperate in Mallorca to "be better again".
Nadal did make a brief return at the ATP 500 event in Washington but could not sustain his fitness and had to pull out of both the Toronto and Cincinnati Masters, along with Roger Federer, who has also ended his season prematurely through injury.
One of the reasons the Spaniard returned to Mallorca after flying out to North America was to consult with his doctor before making his final call on whether or not to play at the US Open. That decision has now been made.
Corretja, who has worked closely with Nadal and followed every step of his illustrious career, admitted he was 'concerned' with this latest withdrawal after he was also forced to miss both Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics through injury.
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"Since he pulled out of Toronto and Cincinnati we were wondering if he was going to be okay for the US Open," Corretja told Eurosport.
Unfortunately, it's not the case. It's shocking news, because of course we want Rafa to play in New York.
"But if he is not 100 per cent and able to play and healthy, it's normal that he takes a little while to recover.
"What is concerning me a little bit is that he pulled out of Wimbledon, the Olympics and now the US Open. That means that maybe the injury is more serious than we expected, and I'm a little bit concerned for the future as well."
Fellow Eurosport tennis expert, Justine Henin, added: "It is not a big surprise, we knew it could happen. The way he left Roland Garros, we could see it was difficult, physically, and it looks like it remains hard physically.
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Nadal and Federer's US Open withdrawals 'bring questions for future' - Henin
That brings a lot of questions on his future. All these guys getting older… We can see with Roger, it is getting more and more difficult.
"We can also see a new generation pushing a lot and, of course, Rafa has to be in his best shape if he wants to compete. If he comes to a Grand Slam, it is to win, and he is not in the condition to do that.
"Probably Novak [Djokovic] knew that Rafa and Roger would not be his toughest opponents. Of course, Rafa is Rafa and he can come to a Grand Slam and make the difference, but we know he needs to play, we know he needs matches and we knew he would need preparation matches in the States.
"It would have been tough for him to be in good shape and to be able to push Novak, who is confident even though he lost at the Olympic Games. I don’t think it will change much for him, because he knows there will be other tough players to beat at the US Open and he needs to stay concentrated on himself."
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