The news of the resignation of Rafa Nadal to compete in the US Open (August 31 – September 13), where he will not be able to revalidate his title won in 2019 although he will keep the 2,000 points achieved after the reforms in the ranking due to the coronavirus pandemic, It has left us an unusual fact since the Balearic is as a professional tennis player on the circuit.
Nadal joins Roger Federer in this way, who will miss the entire 2020 season due to a knee injury of which it was operated in February and later in June. Thus, without Nadal and Federer, the US Open will be the first Grand Slam that will not have the presence of the Swiss or the Balearic since they are both professionals. In fact, as journalist Gustavo Goitia points out, Nadal and Federer will not play in the only Grand Slam in which they have not yet met directly on the court.
DOUBLE HISTORICAL ABSENCE! Without Nadal or Federer, this will be the 1st time in 20 years that a Grand Slam will not have both at the same time, being just the maximum champions of Major. And it is precisely the US Open the only one of the 4 Grand Slam where the Spanish and the Swiss never met pic.twitter.com/dXBMj9744m
– Gustavo Goitía (@goitiatenis) August 4, 2020
Thus Nadal will miss his ninth Grand Slam since becoming a professional, since he was not at Roland Garros and Wimbledon 2004, Australian Open 2006, Wimbledon 2009, US Open 2012, Australian Open 2013, US Open 2014 and Wimbledon 2016 due to injuries. For his part For Federer it will be the fifth Grande in which he will not compete since 1999 after failing to do so at Roland Garros and US Open 2016 and absent at Roland Garros also in 2017 and 2018.
The absence of Nadal and Federer can give new vigor to Novak Djokovic. The Serbian, who will seek to continue in New York with his immaculate 2020 (has 18 victories in as many games) he wants to conquer his fourth title in the Big Apple (he is, along with Roland Garros, the Grand Slam that resists him the most) to stand with 18 Grand Slam, just one of Nadal's 19 and two of Federer's 20. In addition, the Serbian will seek to add 2,000 champion points to further expand his advantage at the top of the ATP rankingAs he defends 180 last year after retiring due to injury to Wawrinka. Djokovic wants to take advantage of the absence of the 'Fedal' society formed by Federer and Nadal before possibly seeing the Balearic in Roland Garros (September 27 – October 11).