10 days from Roland-Garros, Rafael Nadal on his injury: « There will come a time when my head will say stop »

The Mallorcan is therefore not at the end of his troubles with this foot which had already caused the premature end of his season last year, from August. It’s not really a relapse. More like a chronic ailment he can’t get rid of. « I am not injured… I live with an injury, he explained after his loss to Shapovalov. He there is nothing new. It’s there… My daily life is difficult. I try to the maximum but it is sometimes difficult to accept this situation. There are many days when I can’t train normally. »

Nadal did not suffer from it at the start of the match. And that resulted in a display from the Spaniard in the opening set, which was won 6-1. He then seemed set to unfold and continue his journey in the tournament, with a duel against the Norwegian Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals. « The most negative thing for me today is that I really felt much betterhe lamented. I played much better at the start of the game. Even my training and warm-up was significantly better than the other day. »

“Today was crazy”

But the pain eventually caught up with him. And it escalated to become too much to bear. Nadal had the merit of not throwing in the towel. But he really couldn’t fight in these conditions. « It started about halfway through the second sethe confided. And it became unbearable for me. It’s a pain that comes and goes. Sometimes stronger, sometimes less. Today was crazy. There will come a time when my head will say stop, because the pain takes away my pleasure. Not just for tennis, in life. »

He won’t get rid of it. This Muller-Weiss syndrome, Nadal has to live with it. And deal, beyond the pain, with all the uncertainties that this implies. « I don’t know how it will be in two days, in a weekhe blurted out. Today I couldn’t play. But maybe in two days it will be better. I really do not know. I have to accept the situation and fight. I can’t say anything more. I don’t know if I should rest or train. »

Nadal had pulled off a thunderous comeback at the start of the year, racking up 21 straight wins and winning at the Australian Open. A rib injury in Indian Wells in early March forced him to take a break until the Madrid tournament, where he lost to the phenomenon Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals. His preparation for Roland-Garros is now accompanied by many uncertainties. « I always have a goal in a week and a few dayshe insisted. I will dream of this goal. At Roland-Garros, I will have my doctor with me. It can help. »