Rafael Nadal says his shock Australian Open exit is a bitter pill to swallow with the Spaniard now set to undergo tests to establish the cause of a new injury hindering him.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion was knocked out of the tournament in straight sets by MacKenzie McDonald on Wednesday in what was his earliest Grand Slam loss since 2016. Nadal appeared to be far from his best early on before he started to encounter a substantial issue with his fitness from the end of the second set onwards which resulted in him taking a medical time-out.
Speaking about the issue for the first time in his press conference, Nadal confirmed that it is his left hip which is causing him discomfort. The issue has previously bothered him but the severity of the pain dramatically increased during his latest clash. Raising concerns over his plans for the Tour in the coming weeks.
“It (the hip) has been a couple of days like this, but nothing like today in that movement,” Nadal explained.
“We (my team) are gonna start talking about that now. I don’t know what’s going on, if it’s muscle or if it’s joint. I have a history of issues with my hip. I had to do treatments in the past and address it a little (but) it was not this amount of problem. Now I feel like I cannot move.”
“I don’t know till I do the test and all this stuff. It is difficult to make a resolution if it’s a muscle, a joint or a cartilage.”
The situation is a case of deja vu for Nadal who five years ago was in a somewhat familiar situation. At the 2018 Australian Open, he retired from his quarter-final match against Marin Cilic whilst down 2-0 in the decider due to injury. An MRI scan later revealed that he had suffered an injury to his hip flexor. He did not play another tournament until April of that year.
Trying to look on the positive side of what is yet another injury setback for the Spaniard, Nadal admits that it may take him a while to recover mentally. In the past, he has also encountered issues with his foot, knee, wrist and abdomen.
“In the end, I can’t complain about my life at all.” He said.
“In terms of sports and in terms of injuries and tough moments, I mean, that’s another one. I can’t say that I am not destroyed mentally at this time because I will be lying. It’s hard for me but let’s see.’
“Hopefully it is nothing too bad. In the end, there have been three positive weeks in terms of practice. So I really hope that this doesn’t put me out of the court for a long time because then it’s tough to make all the recovery again.”
Given all he has achieved throughout his record-breaking career, Nadal could be easily forgiven for being tempted to follow in Roger Federer’s footsteps and retire from the sport. However, he continues to play for one specific reason.
“I like what I do. I like playing tennis. I know it’s not forever. I like to feel competitive. I like to fight for the things that I have been fighting for almost half of my life or even more.” He stated.
Nadal’s loss opens the door for Novak Djokovic to equal his all-time Grand Slam record of 23 should the Serbian prevail in Melbourne Park.
