They say that there is no evil that for good does not come. After being eliminated in August 2021 at the Washington tournament, Rafa Nadal began a long period of absence due to persistent discomfort in his left foot. He returned to competition in January 2022. To a large extent, that break now gives him the opportunity to rise to number 1 in the ATP ranking. The Majorcan, injured in the abdominal area in the Wimbledon quarterfinals against Taylor Fritz, will reappear this week at the Cincinnati Masters, where he does not defend points due to his absence in the previous edition.
The world number 3 does not depend on himself to return to the top, but on Daniil Medvedev, the first world racket today. Nick Kyrgios, Wimbledon finalist without playing the semifinals due to Nadal's withdrawal, somehow returned the favor to the Spanish by winning the Russian, champion in Canada in 2021, in the Montreal round of 32. Medvedev lost almost a thousand points with that defeat and caused his reign to falter. Number 2, Alexander Zverev, is not included in the equation, still out due to torn ligaments in his right ankle, precisely against Nadal at Roland Garros. However, the formula for Manacor is not at all simple in Cincinnati. The first premise is that the Muscovite, semifinalist last year, does not reach the quarterfinals, so he should lose in his debut against the winner of the Van de Zandschulp-Cressy or in the next round, where Shapovalov, Dimitrov, Brooksby or Paul. If the Russian fell in one of his first two games, Nadal should win the tournament. He will debut against the winner of the match between Borna Coric and a player from the previous one. Dangerous players like Sinner or Alcaraz appear on the horizon.
Although mathematics gives him options, Nadal's physical condition is unknown in his debut on the American tour. “Things are going well at the moment. I hope to be ready. I'm excited," Nadal said. Judging by his latest comeback, when he came out against the odds at the Australian Open, anything is possible. For the time being, on Sunday he tested himself with a two-hour training session against the Italian slugger Berrettini. Nor do they accompany his precedents in Cincinnati, a tournament in which he has not played since 2017 and which he has only won once, in the distant 2013. But he keeps a very special memory of these tracks. “Here I achieved number 1 for the first time in 2008”, explained the man from Manacor, whose position in the ranking has not been his priority in recent years.
The numbers do not accompany Nadal in this Masters 1000, but in the US Open the doors of the summit open wide for him. "Unless he wins all the tournaments, Nadal will probably be number 1," said Medvedev recently, who as defending champion of the American Grand Slam defends 2,000 points, for none of the Spaniard. If the Russian's prediction comes true, Nadal will return to dominate tennis for the first time since January 2020.
