Nadal to return to action at China Open

Reuters - October 1, 2009, 10:21 am

BEIJING, Oct 1 (Reuters) - World number two Rafael Nadal will return to action for the first time since the U.S. Open at next week's China Open after taking two weeks out to rest an abdominal injury.

"Rafa Nadal will return to competition next week," read a statement on his official website (www.rafaelnadal.com). "After long hours of tedious exams, it was concluded that Rafa is physically fit for competition."

The statement also said that Nadal also intended to play at the Shanghai and Paris Masters, the season-ending championship in London and represent his country in the Davis Cup final against the Czech Republic before the end of the season.

The $6.6 million China Open starts with women's qualifying on Friday and will be the first major event to be played on the hard courts of the Chinese capital's Olympic Tennis Centre since last year's Beijing Games, where Nadal won men's singles gold.

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Ian Ransom)