Rafael Nadal out of China Open, Shanghai Masters

World No.1 Rafael Nadal said on Wednesday he would skip the Asian swing to recover from the knee injury he picked up at the US Open.

It’s a decision that will boost Novak Djokovic’s chances of ending the year atop the ATP rankings.

Nadal was forced to retire during his semifinal against Argentine Juan Martin del Potro at Flushing Meadows with what he later said was tendinitis in his right knee, and will now also miss next month’s tournaments in Beijing – where he is the defending champion – and Shanghai.

Djokovic, seeded sixth at the US Open, beat Del Potro in the final to claim his second Grand Slam title this year and rise to third in the rankings, behind Nadal and Roger Federer.

“I had to retire from the semifinals of the US Open and this past Monday I was with doctors in Barcelona to review the situation with my knee,” Nadal wrote on Twitter.

“While my knee problems are nothing new, I have decided together with my medical and technical team not to participate in the Asian tour to recover.”

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The Spaniard heads the world rankings with 8,760 points, 1,860 ahead of Federer and 2,315 more than in-form Djokovic.

With Federer cutting the number of tournaments he plays – the Swiss only took part in events in Shanghai, Basel and the ATP finals after last year’s US Open – Djokovic is now favourite to unseat Nadal as world No.1.

The Serb has no points to defend for the remainder of the year, while Nadal’s victory in Beijing and run to the final in Shanghai in 2017 means a combined total of 1,100 points will fall off his ranking in the coming weeks.

Nadal’s season has been one of contrasts.

Injury also forced him to retire from his Australian Open quarterfinal against Marin Cilic and he missed much of the first quarter of the season.

Yet when he returned on clay, he was dominant, winning titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome plus an incredible 11th trophy at Roland Garros.

He also reached semifinals at Wimbledon and the US Open either side of his victory at the Toronto Masters.

His win-loss record in 2018 is a sparkling 45-4.