Rafael Nadal loses against Borna Ćorić in Cincinnati on return from injury
There was a familiar atmosphere about the crowd as the crowd gathered in Cincinnati, Ohio, to watch Rafael Nadal playing in Cincinnati for a 4th time. Rafael Nadal comes to Cincinnati for the third time in his career, having been here in 2004 as a 19-year-old, again as a 36-year-old and last time, as a 39-year-old.
The crowd seemed to almost feel like the fans in the crowd of the Cincinnati Masters, the men’s main tournament, as they roared their excitement for the world number one on the rise. This will be the second time in the past 12 months that Nadal will be playing in Cincinnati. During his US Open in January he won his record 20th consecutive match against Roger Federer, but while the match went well, Nadal’s performance was overshadowed by a virus that caused him to be absent from the match for over a two-week period, having to miss the quarter-finals and finish second in the tournament.
The next few years will be spent trying to get back to his best and while he has made a comeback on the court, getting to the semi-finals of the Australian Open, he has dropped his last two matches on his return to the tour. Rafael Nadal, however, insists that his win over Borna Ćorić is his most important moment on the tour and that he can not forget this moment. Rafa Nadal, “It was unbelievable. I got hit a lot of balls coming out of the return of serve but unfortunately, it cost me that match.”
Rafael Nadal is a very tough opponent, playing on his home ground as he said this after his win, and after losing to the Czech, he said, “I had a really good time to come here. I hope to come back here.” His words echoed his words earlier in the week too. Rafa Nadal, “It