Paris (AFP)
Package at the US Open, the world No.2 Rafael Nadal "will see what the situation is in Europe" before deciding on his participation at Roland Garros (September 27-October 11).
"I'm going to prepare for the clay-court season in Europe (Masters 1000 in Rome from September 20 to 26, then Roland-Garros, editor's note) and, when the time comes, I'll make my decision," said Rafael Nadal during 'a virtual press conference from Mallorca, where he lives.
"When the time is right, we'll see what the situation is in Europe and whether everything is under control or not, and after that I will make my decision," said the Spaniard with 19 Grand Slam titles, while several European countries including France, see the number of new cases on the rise in recent weeks.
Rafael Nadal, twelve-time winner of Roland-Garros and three-time defending champion, has never missed the Paris tournament since his first participation in 2005.
On Tuesday, the organizers of the Masters 1000 in Madrid (scheduled for September 13 to 19), which was to be the first big clay tournament of the season, formalized its cancellation "because of the difficult economic situation that continues to cause the Covid- 19 at all levels ".
Also Tuesday, Rafael Nadal announced that he would not participate in the US Open (August 31-September 13), of which he is the defending champion. "My heart tells me that this is not the time to make long journeys", he justified Wednesday.
He also criticized the holding of the Adria Tournament, a charity tournament in several Balkan countries organized in June by Novak Djokovic, and canceled after the positive tests for Covid-19 of several participants, including the Serbian.
"Of course, there was an error with this tournament," said the Spaniard, believing, however, that it was explained by "the unknown situation" represented by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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