Rafael Nadal on Saturday said that he is leaning toward playing at the French Open despite his second-round elimination in Rome, as Novak Djokovic laughed off being hit by a bottle which briefly cast doubt on his continued participation.
Clay-court icon Nadal had previously said that he would only play at the French Open, where he has won a record 14 titles, if he feels competitive after a raft of injury problems over the past two years.
And the manner of his elimination in his first ever encounter with Hubert Hurkacz — winner in straight sets 6-1, 6-3 — seemed a step backward after reaching the last 16 in Madrid.
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“The decision, as you can imagine, is not clear in my mind today. But if I have to say what’s my feeling and if my mind is closer one way or the other way, I am going to say to be in Roland Garros and try my best,” Nadal told reporters. “Physically I have some issues, but not probably yet enough to say I’m not playing in the most important event of my tennis career. Let’s see what’s going on, how I feel myself mentally tomorrow, after tomorrow, and in one week.”
Second seed Daniil Medvedev started his title defense by beating Jack Draper in straight sets 7-5, 6-4 to set up a third-round clash with qualifier Hamad Medjedovic, while Stefanos Tsitsipas came back from a set down to beat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-7 (1/7), 6-4 and 6-4.
Russian fourth seed Andrey Rublev, the champion on clay in Madrid last week, also needed a fightback to see off 49th-ranked Marcos Giron of the US 5-7, 6-4 and 7-5.
World No. 1 Djokovic on Saturday donned a cycling crash helmet on his way to practice to show that he was fit and ready to face Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo yesterday.
Djokovic was left crouching in agony after being accidentally hit on the head by a hard water bottle while signing fan autographs on Friday night.
However, he had only minor injuries, and on Saturday he joked: “Today I came prepared” with a video of him arriving while wearing the helmet.
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