‘It’s Difficult for Me to Accept’ – Rafael Nadal Opens Up on Living With Injuries Following His…
It is difficult to accept Rafael Nadal losing in the early rounds of a tournament, especially if it is played on clay court. Such has been his dominance over the years, that he is famously called the ‘King of Clay’. Yesterday, the 21-times Grand Slam champion went down fighting against Denis Shapovalov in the third round of the Italian Open.
In a match lasting two hours and 37 minutes, the Canadian got the better of Nadal in three sets 1-6, 7-5, 6-2. Moreover, it was a shock loss for the Spaniard, who was expected to dig deep at the tournament. After the match, he opened up about living with injuries.
During the post-match press conference after his third-round defeat at the Italian Open, the 35-year-old said, “I am not injured. I am a player living with an injury, that’s it.…my day by day is difficult, honestly.…of course it’s difficult for me to accept sometimes.”
The 35-year-old had a dominant start to the 2022 season, winning a hattrick of titles, including the Australian Open. However, he had to take a mini-break from tennis after the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, owing to a rib injury.
Nadal already in press:
“I am not injured. I am a player living with an injury, that’s it.…my day by day is difficult, honestly.…of course it’s difficult for me to accept sometimes.”
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) May 12, 2022
Talking about his injury, Nadal had said, “I had pain. Honestly, it’s tough to, as I said, I have problems to breathe because I don’t know if it’s something on the rib. I am not sure yet, but when I am breathing and when I am moving, it’s like a needle all the time inside here. I get dizzy little bit because it’s painful.”
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Nonetheless, it was a memorable victory for Shapovalov. He will next face the fifth seed, Casper Ruud, for a place in the Italian Open semifinals.
