Rafael Nadal pulls out of Abu Dhabi third place final!
After his loss to Kevin Anderson on Friday in Abu Dhabi, Rafael Nadal said he will not play the third place final against Karen Khachanov on Saturday as the Spaniard has not fully recovered from the foot surgery he went through in early November yet.
In press conference, Nadal explained: 'When you are out since long time ago, I had the surgery a little over a month ago, it’s normal that I have some pains. Being honest, I’m satisfied with the way I was playing tennis. I am more or less satisfied with how the body held. Tough match, three-set match, I didn’t play sets before here. And at the same time, I have normal pains after a long time without playing, so probably tomorrow I will not play. I will take a couple of days off. The season just started for me, it was a goal to be here, I tried hard to be here after surgery not too long ago, I was not sure if I will have the chance to start the season, and I did. It’s not the moment for me to make a step back, it’s the moment to make a step forward, the match of today is a step forward for me, that’s the main thing.'
Nadal confirmed he still plans to compete in the Brisbane International next week where he features as first seed: 'I’m booked, Brisbane. My goal is to be there and play there. Being honest, that’s my plan.'
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from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2CCWdDs
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