‘I have a goal and I’m going to keep dreaming about it,’ Rafael Nadal fathoms his position despite being wounded and sets his eyes on the French Open
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Rafael Nadal
Things aren’t going according to the plan for 21-time grand slam Rafael Nadal. After a historic start to the season where he won 3 consecutive titles including the Australian Open, Nadal was ruled out for a month due to a hairline rib fracture. He returned on tour last week in Madrid only to lose in the quarterfinal to Carlos Alcaraz. And in Rome too, Nadal, due to his chronic foot injury limped towards the end to a heartbreaking loss to Denis Shapovalov in three sets 1-6,7-5,6-2.
In the press conference, Nadal revealed how much of a problem the left foot has been for him since he came back. He said that he finds it difficult to practice on a stretch which in return hampers his game.
“Since I came back, the foot has been tough,” he said. “It’s tough for me to be able to practice the proper way days in a row. So then you need to move well to compete at the highest level, something that I am not able to practice.”
He added that he at times feels that everything is going perfectly but then suddenly the pain kicks in which at times is unbearable. “The toughest thing for me today is honestly I start to feel myself play much better. I started the match playing much better. My practice was much better, the warmup than the other day,” he said.
‘Sometimes it’s not easy even for me’: Rafael Nadal
Nadal, who is supposed to be one of the major favorites for the French Open in 10 days’ time is still uncertain as to what lies ahead for him. He said that he doesn’t know what will happen in the next few days but also said that it is time to accept the situation and fight. He emphasized that he has a goal in his mind- French Open, and he’s going to keep dreaming about it.
“What can happen in the next couple of days, I don’t know. What can happen in one week, I really don’t know now,” he said. “It’s the time to accept the situation and fight. That’s it… I don’t know if rest, I don’t know if maybe practice. But I still have a goal in one week and a couple of days. I’m going to keep dreaming about that goal.”
He revealed that his first and foremost goal is to eliminate the pain and said that he will be going to have his doctor with him at the French Open. “First thing that I need to do is to don’t have the pain to practice, that’s it… It’s true that during the French Open, Roland Garros, I’m going to have my doctor there with me. That sometimes helps because you can do things,” he said.
He concluded by focusing on the positives but also said that even for him, it is sometimes difficult to accept things. “In the positive days and in the negative days, you need to stay and value all the things that happened to me in a positive way. Then days like today, just accept and try to keep going even if sometimes it’s not easy for me,” he said.
Also Read: “Happy to turn it around, ” Denis Shapovalov stuns a struggling Rafael Nadal on clay
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Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)