Rafael Nadal set off all the alarms after falling to Denis Shapovalov in the round of 16 of the Rome Masters 1000 on Thursday last week. It wasn't just about the loss, but the fact that he finished the game limping, unable to show the best version of himself due to the chronic injury he suffers in his left foot. "I play because it makes me happy, but the pain takes away that happiness," he acknowledged. Physical problems threatened to hamper his participation in Roland Garros, his favorite tournament, which begins this Sunday.
However, the Balearic tennis player is not willing to throw in the towel. This Monday, Rafael Nadal returned to training after taking a few days off in his native Manacor, as he himself announced through social networks. “See you on Wednesday, Paris, Roland Garros”, wrote the winner of 21 Grand Slams to accompany an image where he is seen exercising on the track of his academy.
The 2022 edition of Roland Garros will start this Sunday, May 22, although the main draw pairings are not yet known. Rafa Nadal is the historical dominator of the competition, with 13 wounds to his credit. However, the last champion was Novak Djokovic, who beat Stéfanos Tsitsipas in the 2021 final. The Serb will also be present to defend his title.
Nadal started the year with a winning streak that lasted up to 21 games and that allowed him to win the Acapulco and Melbourne tournaments and the Australian Open. Taylor Fritz was the particular executioner of him, in charge of putting, in Indian Wells, an end to his undefeated, in a stake that the Balearic played suffering from a crack in the ribs. He missed the Montecarlo competition and the Conde de Godó Trophy due to injury and reappeared at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he lost in the quarterfinals against Carlos Alcaraz. In Rome, his left foot, which already forced him to miss the final stretch last season, was again his worst rival.
The Spanish player ended his round of 16 match against Shapovalov with an obvious limp, physically diminished due to the degenerative ailment he suffers from, Müller-Weiss syndrome, which raised fears for his presence in upcoming matches. He has been living with this chronic pain for 18 years, but on few occasions had he been seen so distressed. “I am not injured. I live with an injury. I play to be happy, because it makes me happy to play. Only that there comes a time when pain takes away your happiness, not to play, but to live day to day", Nadal was honest, before adding that, if he did not take any anti-inflammatory, "he would be lame".
The tennis player will be able to count on his personal doctor in Paris, Dr. Ángel Ruiz Cotorro, whose presence he hopes will help him find solutions. “Sometime my head will say enough, but for now, I accept my situation. I think my head is still prepared to tolerate the situation and to take on the challenge that what I have to do is going to entail. I will fight for it”, concluded Nadal.
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