Separate restarts coming? Nadal hits the clay, Djokovic trains on hard

Rafael Nadal has been practicing on clay this week while Novak Djokovic hit the hard courts, sending different signals about when and where they plan to start competing again.

The ATP tour is set to begin again in a month, starting with the ATP 500 event at Washington, then a relocated Cincinnati and the US Open, both in New York. These hard-court tournaments are scheduled to be followed by clay events at Madrid, Rome and the French Open.

Nadal, who has entered Madrid, is training on clay at his academy in Mallorca with coach Carlos Moya. He has previously said he is unsure of his participation in New York, but has not officially announced whether he is playing.

Djokovic, who has repeatedly indicated he is doubtful about going to the US Open, initially began practicing on clay. He recently switched to training on hard courts at the Janko Tipsarevic Academy in Belgrade before beginning a Bosnian family trip. That suggests he's still considering playing at Flushing Meadows.

The Serb is No. 1 in the rankings and a title victory there could see him add on a significant chunk of points, given he lost in the fourth round last year to Stan Wawrinka. Djokovic trailed Pete Sampras by four weeks for second all-time in the top spot when the rankings were frozen in March. Nadal—ranked No. 2 and the defending champion at the US Open—cannot gain points, but will keep his 2,000 points from winning the title under the new adjusted rankings.

World No. 3 Dominic Thiem plans on competing in both events staged in the USTA's New York bubble.

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