Rafael Nadal tests positive for Covid-19; to decide on tournament participation later

Barcelona, December 20: Former world number one tennis star Rafael Nadal of Spain said he has tested positive for COVID-19 while returning from Abu Dhabi after playing a tournament.

Nadal in a tweet from his official handle said he had tested negative in both Kuwait and Abu Dhabi every two days, the last one coming on Saturday.

“I am having some unpleasant moments but I hope that I will improve little by little. I am now homebound and have reported the result to those who have been in contact with me,” he said.

“As a consequence of the situation, I have to have total flexibility with my calendar and I will analyze my options depending on my evolution.

“I will keep you informed of any decisions about my future tournaments,” he said in the tweet.

Nadal’s comeback ends

Andy Murray had on Friday defeated Rafael Nadal and continued his march towards a possible third World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament title in Abu Dhabi.

In the clash of two former world number 1s, it was the player from Britain who won the all-action semifinal clash 6-3, 7-5, to set a final showdown with world No.5 Andrey Rublev on Saturday at the International Tennis Centre, Zayed Sports City.

Two-time MWTC champion Murray has looked sharp on his return and showed great desire and determination to see off long-time rival Nadal.

Murray broke the reigning MWTC champion's serve in game six and never looked back, taking out the first set 6- 3.

In the second set, Nadal dug deep but the Briton held his nerves to seal the set 7-5.

"There were definitely some things I did really well out there. It was very special for me to be back out on the court playing against Rafa and playing in front of a big crowd," said Murray after an impressive performance.

But all hoopla ended in the final for Murray after Andrey Rublev defeated him in the final on Sunday.