'When you're playing Slam matches against Federer, Nadal, Djokovic...', says ATP ace

Rafael Nadal will not be at the starting blocks in the Atp 500 tournament in Acapulco. The left-handed manacor, current number 2 in the ATP ranking and holder of the trophy, has made official on Twitter his forfeit linked above all to back problems that prevent him from tackling the trip to Mexican soil. A few days ago the director of the tournament in an interview had confessed that he could not pay Nadal's attendance fee in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel which will start on March 15th. In a statement on social media Rafa Nadal has dissolved the doubts about his possible presence in Acapulco. The Spaniard, fresh from the ko against Tsitsipas at the Australian Open, clarified: "I am very sorry not to participate in Acapulco 2021. It is a difficult year for everyone and in my current state of health, with back pain, it is not possible to take a trip so long. I love Acapulco, where I've been playing for the last 4 years, but this year it wasn't possible. Hopefully in 2022! ". Nadal has won this tournament on 3 occasions, the last one last year. The physical problems, however, to tell him about him, are still strong and now it will be necessary to understand when he can return to the field for the rest of the season, on the other hand even his manager Carlos Costa has not clarified the timing for his recovery. In a recent podcast, 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic disclosed the special abilities of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer. He also talked about his experience playing against the ‘Big Three’.

Cilic on facing the Big 3

“I would say, for example, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are pretty similar in their intensity,” began Marin Cilic. “They play every single point like it’s a match point… Roger Federer is more focused on change of pace, change of speed, relying a lot of his game on a fast game, great serve, great forehand, you know, just mixing up the game and playing aggressive tennis.” Cilic believes that one feels a lot of pressure while playing against Djoker or Rafa. He even cited an incident from the Australian Open 2021 final to support his argument. “Novak and Rafa are the best in tennis that create pressure. For example, if you watched yesterday, the match with Medvedev. Novak, from the first point, was putting pressure on Daniil and it’s a constant pressure. You are always feeling like he’s pushing you,” added the Croatian player. Cilic also highlighted that in order to beat the ‘Big Three,’ one has to bear the pressure for a very long time. “When you are playing Grand Slam matches against them, there are four hours, five hours to be able to match them up. So, in my opinion, those are the things that they are doing extremely well and plus on top of that, their abilities,” he concluded.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Plswzq