‘I felt pain even when I tried to breathe,’ Rafael Nadal reveals shocking details about his fitness level during the Indian Wells final
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Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal’s unbeaten run in 2022 comes to an end at Indian Wells. The Spaniard lost the Indian Wells Final to American Taylor Fritz in straight sets 3-6,6-7(5), hence ending his 20-match winning streak. He will now head into the clay season with a 20-1 record for the year. This was Nadal’s chance to level with Novak Djokovic at 37 Masters titles but it was not his day on the court physically.
He struggled with a pectoral injury throughout the match and was nowhere near 100% fitness. He even took a medical timeout and had to take painkillers mid-match just to compete. Later in the press conference, Nadal revealed his physical state during the match.
He shockingly said that he wasn’t able to breathe properly due to chest pains. He said that whenever he tried to breathe, it was very painful and uncomfortable. But Nadal, as humble as ever, said that this is Fritz’s night and all the limelight should be on the American. He added that he lost against a great player today.
“All I can say is tough to breathe for me. When I try to breathe, it’s painful & very uncomfortable. Is not the moment to talk about that honestly. Even if it’s obvious I wasn’t able to do the normal things today. It’s a final. I tried. I lost against a great player. I think it’s not the day to talk about what’s going on with me. It’s his day. We don’t need to hide that in my comments,” Nadal said.
Rafael Nadal concerened about his recovery process
Explaining the level of the pain, Nadal said that it felt like he had a needle inside of him. About his recovery, he wasn’t sure how much time it would take to recover.
“I feel pain even when I try to breathe. It’s like I have a needle inside. The thing that worries me now is what I have to do to recover and how long it’s going to take,” he said.
Even after his semifinal win against Carlos Alcaraz, Nadal said that he had chest pains but ruled about any possibilities of a potential injury. He, at that moment, said that the pain was probably due to the adverse wind conditions. Having said that, Nadal has now 3 weeks to complete his recovery. He will skip the Miami Masters and will straight away start his clay season at the Monte Carlo Masters.
Also read: “I don’t have any doubts that he will be great,” Rafael Nadal shares his admiration for this newbie
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Lakshya Chopra
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