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Federer, Nadal slip outside top four at same time
Published
5:31 AM EDT, Tue October 11, 2016
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Together they hold 31 majors, but these are tough times -- relatively speaking -- for Roger Federer, left, and Rafael Nadal, right.
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This week, and for the first time since 2003, Nadal and Federer are outside the top four in the rankings.
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Injuries have played a big part. Federer needed surgery when injuring his knee while running a bath for his twin daughters after his Australian Open ended.
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Illness then surfaced and Federer's run of 65 straight appearances at majors ended when he missed the French Open because of a back problem.
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He returned at Wimbledon and was close to making the final. But he lost to Milos Raonic in the semis and re-injured his knee. He then decided to skip the rest of the season to recover.
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Nadal, meanwhile, began the year by playing well in Doha. But then he exited in the first round of the Australian Open to fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in five sets.
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He gradually rediscovered his game and landed consecutive clay-court titles in April. However, the Spaniard hurt his left wrist and pulled out of the French Open -- he is a record nine-time champ at Roland Garros -- in the first week.
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Skipping Wimbledon, Nadal came back at the Olympics in Rio and won gold with pal Marc Lopez in the doubles while making the semis in singles.
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The roller-coaster ride continued: Despite the momentum, Nadal fell to Lucas Pouille in the fourth round of the US Open. Just like against Verdasco, he led by a break in the fifth.
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And then last week, Nadal suffered his first loss in eight matches against Grigor Dimitrov at the China Open, and in straight sets.