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.