“It’s dangerous and risky,” Ahead of the US Open, Rafael Nadal admits that he hasn’t fully recovered from the injury sustained in Wimbledon
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Rafael Nadal
World No. 3 and the 2nd seed at the 2022 US Open, Rafael Nadal will be eyeing his 5th US Open title and 23rd Grand Slam title in New York this year as the Spaniard looks for his 3rd major of the season. Nadal had an injury-filled season in 2021 but made a brilliant comeback this year as he went 20 matches unbeaten to start the season, his best start ever.
Injuries have however caught up with Nadal time and again this year. His start was affected due to a stress fracture in his rib that hampered his Clay season and when he made the comeback on Clay, his age-old nemesis, an injury in his right foot took over and saw him limping weeks before the 2022 French Open. The ‘King of Clay’ then had to take anaesthesia injections in order to compete in Paris and went on to clinch his 14th title at the Grand Slam winning the titles in Australia and Paris consecutively for the first time in his career.
“I hope to be competitive enough to give myself a chance,”: Rafael Nadal
Just when things were looking good and Nadal was becoming a favourite for the Calendar Slam, the Spaniard fractured his abdominal muscle that saw him withdraw from the semi-finals of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships as it turned out to be a 7mm tear. As he reaches the US Open recovering from the injury, the Spaniard admitted he has not fully recovered.
“It’s a difficult injury because it’s dangerous, it’s risky. I have a scar where you put a lot of effort into serving. You need to regain flexibility. I took it very easy in Cincinnati for training. In matches, I tried to do my best. I fought until the end. I had my chances. Here I train. I do things the best I can. I hope to be ready for action. That’s the only thing I can say. I have what I have. With the tools I have today, I hope to be competitive enough to give myself a chance,” said Nadal in the press conference in Flushing Meadows.
With his serve not being one of his strongest points lately, the Spaniard has openly revealed that over the next two weeks, it will be further affected. However, knowing the competitive spirit he has within him, one cannot rule out Nadal easily as not being a contender for the Grand Slam as he will surely chalk out a plan to deal with his present conditions.
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Sarthak Shitole
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