Fabio Fognini believes Rafael Nadal faked his injury and urges fans to stop believing Rafa’s antics

Rafael Nadal, Fabio Fognini

Rafael Nadal and Taylor Fritz were locked in a lengthy and taxing battle for a spot in the semifinal of Wimbledon 2022. Fritz took the first set 6-3 after being down a break and Rafa was struggling with his abdominal pain which was there in his previous matches too. But he rallied to take the second set 7-5 and was still struggling with pain. Rafa’s father and his sister gestured at him to throw in the towel, but he continued to play in an effort to finish the match. The third and fourth set was a back and forth tussle with Taylor being on the top in both the sets but he lost the fourth set and the match was pushed to a fifth set.

Fritz himself had some pain in his hamstring and he too was playing with painkillers. Nadal’s serve dropped 10 mph in its speed and he was fortunately still in the match. The fifth set required a 10-point tiebreaker to decide the herculean struggle. Rafa took the lead in the tiebreak 5-0 and seemed the match was over but Fritz soon won 4 consecutive points to have some hope but was soon crushed at 10-6 and lost a very heartbreaking match against Rafa. The match went 4 hours and 20 minutes and many people have raised the question about whether Rafa was injured or it was just a tactic.

Also Read: “I will be a liar” Rafael Nadal admits he might hand a ‘walkover’ to Nick Kyrgios before the Wimbledon semi-final

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Fabio Fognini urges fans to stop believing everything they read.

Fabio Fognini, the former world number 9 Italian star has made his doubts very clear about Rafael Nadal’s injuries. He posted the screenshot of the news clipping saying he was injured and wrote. “For sure… #4h20[indicating the duration of the match] Guys stop believe in what you read, PLEASE!” on his Instagram story. He is not the only one who has questioned Rafa’s injuries. Fans slammed Fognini for being so pro-Djokovic that he was casting doubts over Rafa’s condition when it was clearly visible on his face as well as his game. They also reminded him that Novak Djokovic too claimed to have an abdominal injury in his match against Fritz at the Australian Open 2021, which he went on to win.

He’s only injured when he’s losing. Once he starts winning he’s A okay!
— Mashed Potato Man #HireKlopp (@cavsfan_421) July 7, 2022

https://twitter.com/j_evans0/status/1544835304468750336

Haha Pooor Fabio. Watching tennis on TV instead of playing and winning must be hard on him.
— Faith : imane ? شامخة في زمن الانحناء (@imanenour) July 7, 2022