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CINCINNATI. — Rafael Nadal withdrew from the Cincinnati Masters tennis tournament for the second year in a row after polishing off his US Open preparation with a Montreal title on Sunday.

The announcement came a few hours after Nadal won his fifth Canadian title 6-3, 6-0 over Russian Daniil Medvedev.

The oft-injured Spaniard decided against playing any more before the August 26 start of the US Open in new York.

“I am very sorry to announce that I won’t be playing in Cincinnati this year,” Nadal posted on Facebook. “No other reason than personally taking care of my body and trying to keep as healthy as I feel now.”

Nadal said he explained his position to Brazilian Cincinnati tournament director Andre Silva, whom he said understood.

“I’m sure the tournament will be a success and I wish him and his team all the best,” Nadal said. Nadal will go into the US Open with just one hard court warm-up, albeit his record-extending 35th Masters 1000 title.

His late withdrawal leaves the Cincinnati draw severely lopsided, with top seed Novak Djokovic and number three Roger Federer positioned in the top half. — AFP.