Rafael Nadal: 'I'm not injured. I'm a player living with an injury'
Rafael Nadal lost his quarterfinal match in Rome to Denis Shapovalov late Thursday night. The third set in particular gave cause for concern as Nadal was clearly handicapped.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: May 13, 2022, 12:09 pm
"I'm not injured. I'm a player living with an injury," Nadal clarified. "It's nothing new. It's just there." He's trying his best, Nadal said, "but of course it's sometimes difficult for me to accept."
Nadal has suffered from Müller-Weiss syndrome, a degenerative bone disease, since he was young. Here, the scaphoid deforms over time or recedes. Nadal's career seemed threatened at first, until a special insole was made for him - the result, however, is recurring knee problems.
Nadal only had foot surgery last year after he had more serious problems at the French Open, he was out for almost the entire second half of 2021.
In Rome, Nadal had already been asked about a limp a few days ago and had explained that he was now walking like this in everyday life because of his problems.
"It can be frustrating, many days I can't train properly," continued a brooding Nadal. "Today, from the middle of the second set, it started again, I couldn't play well anymore." But then Nadal changed quickly. "Sorry, I just got off the pitch. Congratulations to Denis, I don't want to take anything away from him. He deserved the win."
Nadal and his foot pain: "It was crazy today"
Of course, his foot was still the topic that interested. The problems are always there, Nadal clarified, "sometimes more, sometimes less. But today it was crazy."
How does it look like, also with regard to the French Open? "I don't know how it will be tomorrow, or in a week."
Nadal had started the season with three tournament wins in a row, including at the Australian Open; in Indian Wells he had broken a rib.
Rafael Nadal and the French Open: "I dream of this goal"
The bitter and at the same time positive thing is that he finally played better against Shapovalov than last, felt the ball more. The renewed foot problems are all the more bitter, "and with that the positive things are gone again."
Looking ahead to the future, the 35-year-old explained: "There will come a time when my head says it's enough because the pain takes away the fun. Not just in tennis, but also in life."
Nevertheless, the big goal for Nadal is clear - Roland Garros, of course. "I have a dream in a week, in a few days," said Nadal. "And that's the goal I dream of."