World's no.2 Rafael Nadal showed some love to fellow tennis player Maria Sharapova after posting a comment on his Twitter account wishing the Russian Grand Slam champion a speedy recovery from a shoulder injury that will keep her out of the U.S. Open Championship.
Nadal, who battled through serious injuries in his career, really knows the pain of missing a Grand Slam event because of health problems. That's why the Mallorcan netter was sad to learn that Sharapova would be missing this year's competition in Flushing Meadows due to a shoulder bursitis.
"It's a shame that @MariaSharapova will not be present at #UsOpen. I wish you a soon recovery Maria,!" Nadal posted on his Twitter account.
The 27-year-old Nadal enters the U.S. Open championships as the hands-down favorite following his sensational run on the hard court this year. After winning the title at Indian Wells earlier this season, Nadal went on to bag both the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters crowns in a span of two weeks.
The Spaniard hasn't lost on hard court after 15 matches, making him a clear-cut contender over fellow Big Four contenders Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer. Moreover, Nadal has a chance to reclaim the world's no.1 ranking if he manages to win his second U.S. Open championship and Djokovic fails to advance into the finals.
On the other hand, it has been a rough year for Sharapova who will end the 2013 tennis season without a Grand Slam title. The 26-year old Sharapova reached the semifinal of the Australian Open and the final of the French Open.
In the Wimbledon Open, the Russian was booted out early in the second round, prompting her to switch coaches heading into the hard court season. Sharapova hired Jimmy Connors to be her next coach, but her relationship with the tennis legend didn't end up well. She fired Connors a month later following her loss to Sloane Stephens in Cincinnati. Sharapova will miss a Grand Slam tourney for the first time since rehabilitating her shoulder in 2008.