Nadal could be ready to compete in London

Rafael Nadal has received encouraging advice from his doctor ahead of next week’s ATP Finals in London.

The Spaniard has been plagued by knee trouble since winning the China Open in Beijing, pulling out of the Basel indoor tournament and then withdrawing ahead of his Paris Masters quarterfinal against Filip Krajinovic.

It threw his participation at the ATP Finals into doubt, but the results of scans have shown no further damage to the troublesome area.

“It is not a new injury or an injury that has worsened,” Nadal’s doctor, Angel Ruiz Cotorro, was quoted as saying in Spanish newspaper El Espanol.

“It’s not a different situation than when we came from the Asian tour. It’s a tough year, a season with many games. The tendon is suffering, but the images do not show us anything different either. The first thing was to stop and assess how the knee was, if something new had happened.

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“Now we know that there is nothing different, which is a situation that had been dragging on for some time. The problem of tendons in different situations may bother more or less, but we will try to be good to play in London.

“If he is well, he will play, and if he is not well, he will give up playing. You have to see how it evolves these days.”

Nadal indicated in Paris that he was more focused on ensuring his long-term health than competing at the season-ending event.

“All I can say is that I will take my treatment and I will do my maximum to play in London,” said Nadal, who has never before won the ATP Finals.

“I pushed my body. It’s the finish of the season. It’s normal that this type of thing happens.

“My knee always bother me, sometimes less, sometimes more – at the moment, it’s more. I cannot play my usual level.

“For me, it’s not about London, but about the longer term. I will do the treatment that I consider the safest to keep playing tennis as long as possible.”

Jack Sock, by winning the Paris Masters title on Sunday, became the eighth and final qualifier for the ATP Finals.

The others in the field are Roger Federer, Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, Marin Cilic, Grigor Dimitrov and David Goffin.