World No 1 Rafael Nadal had to withdraw from the Paris Masters with a knee injury just hours before he was due on court for the quarter-finals that now leaves his place in the ATP World Tour Finals uncertain. He told a news conference ahead of scheduled quarter-final match against Serbian Filip Krajinovic on Friday in the last eight this afternoon but withdrew from the tournament and is now a doubt for London.
Nadal beat Hyeon Chung in the second round to guarantee he would finish the season as world No1 but he picked up an injury in the Pablo Cuevas match yesterday. He needed the doctor on court before continuing and has now pulled out of the tournament. Nadal did say he felt OK after the match and was looking forward to London, but his place at the ATP Tour World Finals later this month is now in doubt.
"I have to pull out. Of course it's a very hard decision for me," Nadal said. Pulling out of any event is tough but especially from here in Paris, as I said a lot of times, it's the most important city in my career without a doubt. It's a tough situation but I have the calm that I came here, tried me best, did everything I could to try to play this event.
"I did one treatment last night to try to play today but it's impossible to go on court like yesterday. I'm going to go back, check again with the doctors [like] I did after Shanghai. Let's see. I'm going to do my treatment. In the past it worked well."
The ATP Finals get underway next Sunday and after a memorable season that has seen him claim two more Grand Slam titles in a season haul of six tournament victories, Nadal was well set to contend in London.
Remarkably it is a tournament that the Spaniard has never won and he now faces an anxious week of rehab to make the field for the eight-man end-of-season finale.
