By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday, August 27, 2022
Rafael Nadal told reporters that he is saddened by the absence of his rival Novak Djokovic at the 2022 US Open.
“From my personal perspective, it is very sad news,” Nadal said. “It’s always a shame when the best players of the world are not able to play a tournament because of injuries or because of different reasons.
“In this case, not having one of the best players in the history in the draw of Grand Slam is always an important miss, no?”
Nadal, who has missed his share of Grand Slam draws for various reasons, including the last two stagings of the US Open, says it isn’t only the fans and the tournament that get cheated. It is also the players, who want to have the best field possible at a Grand Slam.
“Tough for the fans, tough for the tournament,” Nadal said. “In my opinion, tough for the players, too, because we want to have the best field possible.”
But Nadal hammered home a familiar theme at the end of his remarks: the sport is bigger than any single player.
“On the other hand, I repeat what I said plenty of times: the sport in some ways is bigger than any player,” he said. “I missed a lot of important events in my tennis career because of injuries, without a doubt. Last year I was not here. Two years ago I was not here. The tournament continues. The world of tennis keeps going.
“Even if it is not good news for everyone, the world continues and the tennis will continue after me, after Novak, after Roger.”
Mood knowing the US Open starts in two sleeps 😃 pic.twitter.com/Np7ulzY47U
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 27, 2022
Recognizing that fact could not help Nadal from dwelling on the difficulties that Djokovic has faced in 2022, a year that has seen him miss two majors due to his decision to remain unvaccinated and the slow unraveling of strict Covid-19 regulations across the globe.
“Without a doubt, Novak is one of the most important players of the last 20 years, the history of our sport. In a personal way I feel sorry for him that he’s not able to travel here,” Nadal said.
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev agrees with Nadal. The top seed also missed a major in 2022 when Wimbledon banned all Russian and Belarusian players from competing due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“I wish he would play here,” Medvedev said. “We saw it in Wimbledon. He didn’t play many tournaments this year. He came there, he won. He’s such a…
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