Toronto (Canada) (AFP)

A nagging left foot injury forced Rafael Nadal to withdraw from the ATP Masters tournament in Toronto on Tuesday, raising doubts about his participation in the US Open which opens at the end of the month.

The Spanish champion threw in the towel on the eve of his entry into contention in Canada against South African Lloyd Harris, 50th player in the world, who beat him last week in the third round of the tournament in Washington.

"I have had this problem for a few months," said Nadal, who had already given up on Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics after his lost semi-final against Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros.

"This situation is not happy, of course, after all the success I have had here in Canada," added the 35-year-old tennis player who has five titles in Toronto to his record.

"I have to go back (to Mallorca) and try to find a way to be better. The most important thing is to have fun playing tennis," he said.

"With this pain, I am unable to take pleasure".

The injury, aggravated in Washington during his victory in the second round against Jack Sock, had partly subsided, he had assured after his defeat against Harris, but bothered him again on the eve of his entry on the hard surface. from Toronto.

"I don't think I had a chance to fight" in this tournament, explained Nadal, exempt from the first round.

This foot injury, which appeared in 2005 according to Nadal, has been causing him pain since Roland Garros and threatens his chances of participating in the Cincinnati Masters 1000 next week and especially in the last Grand Slam tournament of the season which begins on August 30 in New York.

Nadal, who holds 20 Grand Slam titles like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, has encountered several physical problems throughout his career, especially in the knee.

Seeded number 2 in Toronto, the Spaniard will be replaced by his compatriot Feliciano Lopez, tournament organizers have announced.

The tournament's number one seed, Russian Daniil Medvedev, defeated Kazakh Alexander Bublik 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in a match interrupted by rain.

Japan's Kei Nishikori, finalist in 2016, also climbed to the next round with a victory over Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, as did American John Isner , who with 19 aces, defeated Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

© 2021 AFP