Spain’s world number 4 Rafael Nadal has refuted claims that he was injured in the round of 16 clash with Canada’s world number 16 Denis Shapovalov after he limped off the court in the Italian Open.
Nadal started the contest on a brilliant note, winning the first set distinctively, but fell to the relentless Shapovalov’s clinical strokes to concede to a 1-6 7-5 6-2 defeat.
The Spaniard, who was evidently limping during the round of 16 action after sustaining a brilliant start, said that he felt excruciating pains in his foot which degenerated as the game progressed.
However, the Spaniard is not new to being affected by injuries which have reoriented the tennis star’s mindset towards living with it as a normal thing.
The 35-year-old Spanish only recently returned to action after suffering a rib injury that forced him out of action for six weeks.
More so, world number 4 has a history of a foot injury and was diagnosed with Mueller-Weiss Syndrome for over a year which prevented him from participating in last year’s Wimbledon.
“I’m not injured, I’m a player who lives with this injury,” Nada said after the loss to Shapovalov.
“There’s nothing new. Unfortunately, my daily life is difficult.
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“Even so, I do my best. Of course, sometimes I find it hard to accept the situation. It’s frustrating sometimes when I can’t train normally for several days,” he added.
The French Open is scheduled to kick off on May 22, 2022, and Nadal who has a record of winning the title thirteen times would ensure he puts his foot to shape to enable him forge his campaign for his 14th French Open title.
Consequently, this is the first time Spain’s world number 4 has crashed out of the Italian Open too quickly since 2008.
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