World No.4 Rafael Nadal didn’t enjoy a great start in the hard-court season. He lost to Llyod Harris in the second round of the Citi Open 2021 in three sets, and thus, got eliminated from the tournament. The final scoreline of the match was 4-6, 6-1, 4-6.

After not succeeding at the Citi Open 2021, Rafael Nadal recently landed in Toronto, Canada for the National Bank Open 2021. He is the defending champion there and fans believe that he can defend his title this year as well.

In the pre-tournament press conference, Rafa stated that he is always happy to be back in Toronto. He mentioned that he has been practicing better than he played in Washington. He also gave updates about his foot injury.

“I am going day-by-day. It’s true that sometimes, my foot is bothering me more than I would like … I really need to have a couple of weeks with less pain, to have the confidence again with my movement,” said Nadal in the press conference.

The Citi Open 2021 proved to be a big nightmare for Rafa. He didn’t just lost the tournament but also dropped out of the top 3 players in the ATP rankings for the first time in the last four years.

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“Was in a lot of pain”- Rafael Nadal

Rafa revealed that he was under so much pain after the French Open 2021 that he didn’t even touch the tennis racquet for 20 days. However, fans feel that he is fully fit now and will make an incredible comeback on the court.

“After Paris, my foot was not recovering. I was in a lot of pain. I couldn’t really practice. I stayed around 20 days without touching a racquet, trying to recover,” added the 20-time Grand Slam champion.

The Spaniard has won the National Bank Open titles five times in his career so far. If he wins it for the sixth time, he’ll level Ivan Lendl for the most titles in Toronto. His arch-rivals, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, have only won four and two National Bank Open titles respectively.

Fans are pretty exhilarated to watch Rafael Nadal on the court. If he succeeds in Toronto, he’ll win his 37th Masters 1000 tournament and will surpass Djokovic in the tally. Will Rafa be able to end the year within the top 3 ATP players?

Also Read: National Bank Open 2021 Draw: Rafael Nadal to Potentially Take On Nick Kyrgios, Daniil Medvedev Leads the Draw