Rafael Nadal opens his bid for a second Cincinnati Masters title when he faces Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas in the second round of the tournament at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
After an impressive run at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Nadal will immediately starts his campaign at the Western & Southern Open, where he attempts to continue his momentum heading into the remaining Grand Slam event of the year in New York.
Nadal, who won a Gold Medal in the men's doubles category, but failed to win in singles competition, will face Cuevas, who defeated American Sam Querrey in straight sets 4-6 7-6(5) 6-3 to advance in the second round.
Nadal leads Cuevas by 2-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head career singles matchup, but the 30-year-old Uruguayan won over the King of Clay in their most recent meeting at the Rio Open earlier this year. While Nadal should come up as the favorite to win against Cuevas, the Spaniard admitted his left wrist isn't fully-healed yet.
"The wrist is not perfect. It bothers me when I hit the forehand. The serve, the backhand - nothing else bothers me. The truth is, when I hit the forehand, I feel it bothering me a little bit, but without a doubt it's been a positive week in all aspects. I've played for many hours and the wrist at least didn't get worse," Nadal said, reports Tennis World USA.
Nadal was forced to be sidelined for more than two months after suffering a left wrist injury at Roland Garros in May, but the 14-time Grand Slam winner did not show any signs of setbacks during his stint at the Olympic Games. However, his hectic schedule at the quadrennial sporting event has already drained some of his energy and could play a factor in his campaign at the Cincinnati Masters.
"It has been a very tough week that costed me so much, I am very tired," Nadal said. "I spent very much energy, I did what I could do, I gave everything overcoming the limits as well, but there was nothing to do."
Meanwhile, world No. 2 Andy Murray, who won his second-consecutive Gold Medal in Rio, will also be action as he opens against either Ivo Karlovic or Juan Monaco. After conquering the singles competition at the Olympic Games, Murray shared a private jet with Nadal and swiftly arrived in Cincinnati for the ATP Masters 1000 event.
"I work hard for this. I was emotional at the end," Murray told The Guardian after winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Rio. "I never expected to be competing for these events when I first started playing. I am very proud to have got the chance to do it again."
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