The tournament director of the Paris Bercy Masters 1000 has
revealed that Spain’s
Rafael Nadal has not made any request to play in the
event. The competition will be played from October 26 to March 03 where some of
the big-name players in the world will participate to showcase their talent and
secure the ultimate prize.
Nadal, who has recently announced his retirement from
professional tennis after the upcoming Davis Cup, was rumoured to have some
interest in playing in the mega-event in the city where he has had incredible
success in the past. However, tournament’s director Cedric Pioline was recently
quoted in a report where he revealed that the Spaniard did not make any request
to play in the competition. “It is true that it was a real option for him to
come to Paris to play games, a form of logic given that the Davis Cup will be
his final curtain, but no, he has not made any request.”
Nadal has a fabulous record while playing in Paris. He is
known as the ‘King of Clay’ because of winning the French Open 14 times which
is a record in the competition’s history. The 38-year-old is regarded as the
greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category, having won
as many as 22 Grand Slam titles, second-most, behind only Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.
Nadal has struggled with fitness concerns in the recent
past. It is because of this that he has missed six out of last eight Grand
Slams. The former world number one returned to the court earlier this year
after spending nearly 12 months on the sidelines. However, his return did not
go as planned as he was forced to miss the Australian Open because of a niggle.
He returned to the court before the French Open but was knocked out after
losing in the first round.