Rafa struggling with back problem

World No. 2 Rafa Nadal  said doubts remain over his fitness ahead of next week’s Australian Open. Nadal pulled out of Spain’s ATP Cup tie against Australia on Tuesday with a lower-back problem and, despite some improvement, said he was still far away from the level required to play at the year’s first Grand Slam. “It’s not that I’m in a really bad way, but I’m also not alright in the sense that I can’t play either,” Nadal told a Spanish television channel. “I’ve improved a little but I’m not in a position where I can go and play a game at full intensity.”

Nadal’s name was also absent from Spain’s ATP Cup tie on Friday against Greece at Melbourne Park’s John Cain Arena. The 34-year-old practised for an hour today evening at the Rod Laver Arena and his fitness was improving “little by little, step by step”, sources close to Nadal told Reuters.

Germany bars Liverpool from coming for Champions League game

Germany will not allow Liverpool into the country to play a Champions League game at Leipzig on Feb. 16 because of border restrictions imposed over new variants of the coronavirus.

The German Interior Ministry confirmed Thursday that an application by Leipzig for special permission for Liverpool to enter the country was refused by federal police, the dpa news agency reported.

That means the game, the first leg of the round of 16, can’t be played as scheduled on Feb. 16 in Leipzig. The German club could ask UEFA to move the game to a neutral venue. Switching the order of the legs so that Liverpool plays at home first could also be an option, but would likely require Leipzig’s players and staff to go into quarantine on their return to Germany from Britain. UEFA is open to delaying games affected by travel bans. On Tuesday it set April 2 as the latest possible date to finish last-16 games in time for the quarterfinals.

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