‘It’s Difficult for Me to Accept’ – Rafael Nadal Opens Up on Living With Injuries Following His Italian Open 2022 Exit

It is difficult to accept Rafael Nadal losing in the early rounds of a tournament, especially if it is played on clay court. Such has been his dominance over the years, that he is famously called the ‘King of Clay’. Yesterday, the 21-times Grand Slam champion went down fighting against Denis Shapovalov in the third round of the Italian Open.

In a match lasting two hours and 37 minutes, the Canadian got the better of Nadal in three sets 1-6, 7-5, 6-2. Moreover, it was a shock loss for the Spaniard, who was expected to dig deep at the tournament. After the match, he opened up about living with injuries.

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Rafael Nadal on his physical condition

During the post-match press conference after his third-round defeat at the Italian Open, the 35-year-old said, “I am not injured. I am a player living with an injury, that’s it.…my day by day is difficult, honestly.…of course it’s difficult for me to accept sometimes.” 

Last year, Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic in the finals of this tournament to win the title. With his third-round defeat this season, the Spaniard will lose crucial ranking points. As a result, Nadal will drop a place to the fifth spot when the ATP rankings are updated next week.

Nadal had begun his match against Shapovalov dominantly, breaking his opponent’s serve twice to take the first set 6-1. However, he couldn’t carry on his winning momentum, going down in the next two sets to bow out of the tournament.

Nadal’s injury woes this season

The 35-year-old had a dominant start to the 2022 season, winning a hattrick of titles, including the Australian Open. However, he had to take a mini-break from tennis after the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, owing to a rib injury.

Talking about his injury, Nadal had said, “I had pain. Honestly, it’s tough to, as I said, I have problems to breathe because I don’t know if it’s something on the rib. I am not sure yet, but when I am breathing and when I am moving, it’s like a needle all the time inside here. I get dizzy little bit because it’s painful.”

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Nonetheless, it was a memorable victory for Shapovalov. He will next face the fifth seed, Casper Ruud, for a place in the Italian Open semifinals.