Rafael Nadal will look to aid his preparations for the US Open by playing at warm-up events in Toronto and Cincinnati, according to his coach Carlos Moya. Nadal will not be able to challenge Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon this summer after pulling out of the tournament earlier this month. "The US Open is a tournament that has been very good for Rafa historically," Moya told Eurosport. "He really likes the atmosphere that lives there, and we hope it will be a tournament with almost no restrictions. The idea is to compete in Toronto and Cincinnati ahead of the US Open." Moya recently explained Nadal's decision to withdraw from Wimbledon. "The clay court tour was very tough, with a lot of physical and mental pressure," said the 44-year-old. "Rafa finished exhausted. He is going to take a well-deserved rest. This is a marathon, a long-distance race in which hard decisions have to be made. "He has considered that the best thing is to stop to come back full of strength. Rafa, two years ago, reached a point of great mental fatigue that was very difficult to get out of. Now he has indicated that he was close to that again. He cannot afford [to play in] a Grand Slam if he is not at 100 per cent. "The defeat [to Djokovic at Roland Garros] has not affected as much as the fact that there is a week less than usual to prepare for Wimbledon, as well as the context in which we are with the pandemic. It is difficult on a mental level to face the confinements prior to a great match, to play with little public, etc. This affects Rafa, he is a person who has a great connection with people and it was hard to go to London with a quarantine in between."
Source: Express/ *Join us on Telegram!/ Follow us on Twitter!