Rafael Nadal can be sidelined for 4 to 6 weeks due to a rib damage, placing in jeopardy his preparations for the French Open in two months.
Nadal mentioned Tuesday he went by exams after arriving in Spain from the United States and outcomes confirmed he has a stress fracture on one in all his left ribs.
The damage was sustained within the semifinals at Indian Wells in opposition to Carlos Alcaraz. Nadal then misplaced within the remaining to Taylor Fritz in two units on Sunday.
“This is not good news and I didn’t expect it,” Nadal wrote on Twitter. “I’m devastated and sad because it comes after a great start to the season.”
Nadal was 20-0 to start the season, together with profitable the Australian Open, earlier than dropping to Fritz 6-3, 7-6 (5) on the hard-court event in California. It was the third-best begin to a season since 1990 on the ATP Tour. Nadal additionally gained titles in Melbourne and Acapulco.
“I was getting to a very important part of the season feeling well and with good results,” Nadal mentioned. “But well, I’ve always had this fighting spirit and what I’ll do is be patient and work hard after recovering.”
The 35-year-old Nadal was handled by a coach in the course of the remaining in opposition to Fritz and afterward mentioned the issue started the evening earlier than in the course of the semifinals in opposition to Alcaraz.
Nadal had mentioned he was undecided what precisely prompted the discomfort, saying it was “painful” and “very uncomfortable” when he tried to breathe.
Nadal’s profitable streak to start 2022 included his record-breaking twenty first Grand Slam title on the Australian Open in January.
The third-ranked Nadal will attempt to win a record-extending 14th French Open title at Roland Garros this yr. He misplaced to eventual champion Novak Djokovic within the semifinals of final yr’s event in Paris.
Nadal’s participation on the Madrid Open on the finish of April will seemingly rely upon how his restoration progresses. The Spaniard is a five-time champion in Madrid. He is just not prone to play within the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open subsequent month.
Nadal had already determined to skip this week’s event in Florida and head residence to Spain to arrange for the clay-court season.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
