Rafael Nadal cites fatigue as Spanish ace withdraws from Cincinnati Masters

For the second year in succession, Rafael Nadal will not appear at the Cincinnati Masters after he announced his withdrawal from the final Masters 1000 event.

Cincinnati Masters officials have confirmed that the world's second-ranked player will once again be absent from the tournament, just hours after the Spanish star's convincing straight-sets win against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev (6-3, 6-0) in the final of the Rogers Cup in Canada.

The Spaniard informed tournament officials shortly after his Rogers Cup win, as well as telling reporters in post-match comments, that he will not be taking part in the Ohio tournament.

“World No 2 Rafael Nadal, our 2013 champion, has withdrawn from #CincyTennis citing fatigue,” tournament officials said in a statement.

Nadal will now focus on the upcoming US Open beginning on August 26 and will arrive in New York in confident mood after his resounding, one-sided victory against Russia’s Medvedev.

“He played a great game, some very long rallies,” said Nadal after the match.

“For me, personally, it was important to start the match in good shape.

“He came to that match playing so well, playing a lot of matches [in recent] weeks. For me, it was a different story. I only played three matches on hard [courts] before this one.

“I think I played a good first game, too. He had a break point. I played well. I saved that game. After that I think I played a solid match, my best match of the week so far without a doubt.”

Had Nadal opted to compete in Ohio, his first match would likely have been on Wednesday but instead the 33-year-old, who has a long history of injuries, appears to be allowing his body to rest before the season-ending Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows.

Nadal currently leads the ATP Race to London, an indicator of who will finish as the year-end number-one player. He now has three tour title victories this year, as well as an overall record of 41-6.