Literally blood, sweat and tears cost Rafa Nadal to overcome Fabio Fognini, in their second round encounter. The Mallorcan began with what seemed like a lack of conviction and even told his team in the box that he had anxiety. It was obvious that he was not comfortable and did not find his game. So much so, that in just under an hour and a half his rival had taken a set up and 4-2 in the second. Afterwards he ended up winning 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.
"There was a time when I was making such a mess that I wasn't getting to pause," he explained. “I think the heart rate was much higher than usual. I felt rushed. And that did not allow me to think clearly or act in a logical way in what my standards of play are. At that time many would have thrown in the towel, but Nadal brought out his super-power: mental toughness. “I am not a person to look inside or to meditate a lot. The only thing I try to do in those moments above all is not to despair. You have to have the humility to accept mistakes. When you don't consider yourself too good, mistakes are tolerated and forgiven and that's one of the things I've done in my career”.
Self-critical and realistic, he admits that he was lucky to redirect the game and put the building blocks that make up his game back in order. “It cost me and I did it too late. I have escaped from a situation that was on the edge. How do you do this? Well, shooting to the center, making the other win the points, something that I was not doing for a set and a half. So you have the feeling of not making a mistake. From there you can build little by little, generate from trust”.
Taking advantage of some mistakes by Fognini and using his play-it-safe strategy, he managed to turn the second set around and take the third with ease. That's when trying to return a blow from the Italian, the racket fell from his hand and the rebound against the ground hit him hard in the nose. Nadal was beside himself for a few seconds when he began to bleed. In a gesture of camaraderie, his rival went to help him and Rafa lay down on the ground until the tournament doctor attended to him.
“At first I was a bit dizzy, because it has been very painful. I thought I had broken my nose. It had happened to me with a golf club, but not with a racket, ”he told Patrick McEnroe in the on-court interview. Later, Nadal, who played the rest of the game with a plaster on his nasal septum, did not want to give more importance to his accident. “You don't have to make a lot of history either. It has been a strong blow but I deserve it, because of how badly I have played, ”he joked.
It's hard for the Mallorcan to reconcile the good training he's doing with games that don't expose him, but the circumstances don't help. “We have had a few difficult months, with things that are happening in life: injuries, things that are difficult to manage. I'm happy to still be alive and give myself a chance."
One of the things that is on his mind and that may have affected his level of concentration is the state of his wife, who a few days ago, at 31 weeks of pregnancy, had to be admitted to the hospital for problems that, apparently, They were not serious. “On a personal level, I am in an important situation for me. As much as they came out according to what kind of information in the press about my wife's condition, my wife is fine, she and I let it fall. What happens is that these situations are sometimes more difficult to manage when one is away from home. I hope to be ready in two days and play much better”. Today she will face his friend Richard Gasquet, who has never been able to beat him.
