Nadal pulls out of ATP Tour Finals to have surgeryOctober 25, 2014 - 11:04 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Andy Murray’s chances of qualifying for next month’s ATP Tour Finals received a significant boost on Friday, Oct 24 night when Rafael Nadal pulled out of the season-ending tournament, the Guardian reports. The British No1 had earlier strengthened his cause by beating Kevin Anderson to secure a place in the semi-finals of the Valencia Open. Nadal announced he was to undergo appendix surgery on Nov 3, six days before the start of the tournament in London for which eight players qualify. The Spaniard’s withdrawal has in effect promoted Murray to the No7 spot in that race. “It’s the day to say goodbye for the season,” Nadal said after suffering a shock 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) defeat by the 17-year-old Croatian Borna Coric in the quarter-finals of the Swiss Indoors in Basel. “I’m not going to play Paris and London. I am not competitive enough to do that.” Nadal has struggled with appendicitis this month and had earlier announced he would not be playing at the Paris Masters. Before undergoing surgery, Nadal will receive treatment for a back issue that has bothered him since the Australian Open in January, when he was severely compromised in his final defeat by Stan Wawrinka. “I need to work on my back a lot,” said Nadal. “Since Australia I’m not 100% recovered. That needs time and a period of five weeks to work hard again. I need to try to fix all the things that bother me. I’m going to work for one month in December and I will be back at the start of 2015.” Top stories Armenian gymnast, Olympic bronze medalist Artur Davtyan has reached the finals of the World Cup. Gor Manvelyan has denied reports alleging that he has expressed a desire to one day play for the French national team. Roma midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is not considering FC Spartak Moscow as his next haven, according to fresh reports. 10 Armenian lifters will compete in the 2021 World Championships scheduled to be held from 7 to 17 December in Tashkent. Partner news | Kazakh Foreign Minister arrives in Armenia Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu on Monday, March 18 arrived in Armenia for a two-day trip. Aliyev touts “good chances” for normalizing ties with Armenia Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has declared that there are “good chances” for normalizing relations with Armenia. Putin secures fifth term as Russian president Russian President Vladimir Putin has secured a fifth term in office through a dubious national plebiscite. Top Armenian, Indian defense officials discuss cooperation The discussions primarily focused on enhancing cooperation in the defence sector between Armenia and India. |