ATP Indian Wells: Rafael Nadal no longer wants to talk about his foot injury
Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal said he no longer wanted to talk about his injured foot at the media day of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit: Mar 12, 2022, 07:57 am
Enough words have been exchanged for Rafael Nadal - at least as far as the recurring questions about the condition of his foot are concerned. During the media day of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, the Mallorcan was confronted with several questions in a row about his damaged locomotion extremity. The former world number one asked for understanding not to constantly talk about his injury.
"We won't talk about my foot all day," Nadal said with a smile. "If you don't mind, we'll talk about it for the last time because I want to play tennis. When will my foot be 100 percent recovered? Never. It's an injury that we can never fully heal. That's the reality," he said the Spaniard further.
"I worry about my foot every day"
The goal is to be able to play without fear, to be able to place your foot where it is necessary to be able to hit the ball well. "I can't be happier at the moment. But there will certainly be a time when I have to take care of my foot a little more, maybe have to stop for a while." So far this year it's been going really well most of the time.
But to say he's not worried would be presumptuous: "I worry about my foot every day." Now it's time for the bull from Manacor to be careful, to find the right distribution of matches and training on the one hand and the necessary rest periods on the other. In the California desert, Nadal opens against the American Sebastian Korda, who kicked off the Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis in two sets.