Rafael Nadal closes in on Daniil Medvedev's World No. 1 ranking at Cincinnati Open 2022

22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal is all set to make a return to the tennis court during the Western and Southern Open 2022 in Cincinnati, which begins on Saturday. The 36-year-old will be eyeing World No. 1 spot in the ATP Men’s Singles Rankings, and he arrived in Cincinnati for the tournament on Friday. Nadal will replace Daniil Medvedev as the World No. 1 if the Spaniard emerges as the winner of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament and Medvedev fails to reach the qualifiers.

Rafael Nadal returns after injury at Wimbledon 2022

This will be the first time Nadal makes an appearance on the tennis court, after pulling out of the Wimbledon Championships 2022. Having already won the Australian Open 2022 and French Open 2022, Nadal was eyeing his third consecutive Slam title this year before an abdominal injury ended his campaign. He withdrew from the Wimbledon semi-final against Nick Kyrgios and has been recovering from the muscle tear ever since. 

Rafael Nadal's first Cincinnati appearance since 2017

Earlier on August 11, Nadal took to his official Instagram handle and confirmed his participation in the Cincinnati Open. “Very happy to play again in Cincy. Flying there tomorrow,” Nadal captioned the post. He has previously won the tournament in 2013 and has a win/loss record of 22-11 at the ATP Masters event. In his previous appearance in Cincinnati, Nadal went down to Kyrgios in 2017. 

Rafael Nadal eyes fifth overall title of 2022 in Cincinnati

Meanwhile, Nadal currently has a stunning 35-3 record this year and a victorious campaign in the  Western and Southern Open 2022 will give him his 5th title of 2022. In his career, the current World No. 3 has won 36 Masters 1000 titles. 21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, Carlos Alcaraz, and Felix Auger-Aliassime will be other top stars who will be competing in Cincinnati to prepare for the final Grand Slam championship of the year.

The second seed Nadal will begin his campaign on Tuesday with his match against Borna Coric or a qualifier in his first match. On the other hand, seeded first, World No. 1 Medvedev will open against either Maxime Cressy or Botic van de Zandschulp. Having said that, the tournament certainly assures exciting tennis action in the run-up to the US Open 2022, which begins on August 29.