Ben Shelton and Victoria Mboko got better with every round in Canada, and didn’t stop until they had their first 1000-level titles

"After speaking with my doctor, we prefer to take things in a conservative way and give a few more days before starting to compete," said the five-time tournament champion.

ByAssociated Press

Published Aug 05, 2022

Press Conference: R. Nadal Withdraws Wimbledon SF

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MONTREAL (AP) — Rafael Nadal withdrew from the upcoming hard-court tournament in Montreal on Friday because of the abdominal injury that caused him to pull out of Wimbledon ahead of the semifinals.

The Spaniard had been 19-0 in Grand Slam matches this year when he decided the injury was too much at Wimbledon. He won the Australian Open and the French Open to increase his major total to a men's record 22 — one more than Novak Djokovic and two more than Roger Federer.

Nadal is a five-time champion in Montreal.

"I have been practicing for a while now without serving and started with serves four days ago. Everything has been going well. However, yesterday, after my normal practice, I felt a slight bother on my abdominal and today it was still there," Nadal said in a statement. "After speaking with my doctor, we prefer to take things in a conservative way and give a few more days before starting to compete."

With Djokovic unable to enter Canada and Nadal withdrawing, it will be a Big Three-less Masters 1000.

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American player Mackenzie McDonald will replace Nadal in the draw.

Djokovic withdrew from the Montreal tournament on Thursday because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and is therefore not allowed to enter Canada.