Rafael Nadal 'tired' of injury questions after setting up Wimbledon quarter-final against Taylor Fritz
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Published 05/07/2022 at 08:18 GMT
Rafael Nadal admitted he came close to retiring just weeks before Wimbledon, but as he enters the quarter-finals at SW19 he said he preferred to focus on the tournament and is "tired" of talking about his body. Nadal is competing in his first Wimbledon for three years and will play American Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals. Fritz beat Nadal in the Indian Wells final earlier this year.
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Rafael Nadal has said he is "healthy enough to fight for titles" but tired of talking about any injury concerns after he battled into the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner is playing at Wimbledon for the first time in three years after regulating his schedule as he recovered from and struggled with injury.
Nadal had been a doubt for the tournament this year after undergoing treatment for a chronic foot problem following his French Open victory in May. He even admitted he came close to retirement just weeks before.
He remains on course for a third consecutive major title after beating Botic van de Zandschulp, but said afterwards he is "a little bit tired of talking about my body".
"It's not that I don't want to answer the question, but at the same time, sometimes I am tired of myself, and all the issues I'm having.
"I'd prefer to not talk about it now – I'm sorry for that – but I am in the middle of the tournament, and I have to keep going.
"All respect to the rest of my opponents, I am just trying my best every single day, and for the moment I am healthy enough to keep going, and to fight for the things that I want. I think I made a big effort to be here.
"It takes a lot of mental and physical effort to try to play this tournament after the things I went through the last couple of months.
"But as everybody knows, Wimbledon is a tournament that I like so much, and it's been three years without playing here. I really wanted to be back, and that's what I'm doing, so that's why it means so much to be in the quarter-finals."
Nadal is on course for an unprecedented Calendar Slam after winning in Australia and France, and he admitted to adapting his game to remain competitive as he reaches the twilight of his career.
"I won here in 2008, and I played the final in 2006 and 2007," he added. "So I have to say that during that period of time there were a lot of things I did well [on grass courts].
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"At very early stages of my career I was able to play very well on this surface too, but of course I am running less than before, that is obvious.
"When I am losing things, in terms of physical performance, you need to add things to keep being competitive. That's what I did all my career, try to add things to my game, and improve things I need to still be competitive after losing some physical capacities, and other things you lose during your career.
"At the same time, one of the things I'm more proud of is the way I've been able to adjust and accept the challenges in terms of physical issues, and to be able to always find a way to be competitive and improve my game."
Nadal goes up against American Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals.
He says he learned nothing of his opponent when they played the Indian Wells final in March as Nadal played while injured.
"Honestly, what I learned out at our last match was zero, because I had a stress fracture in my rib," he said. "That made it difficult to learn many things, because honestly the pain was terrible playing that match.
"He (Fritz) is playing at a very, very high level, having a great season, winning matches everywhere, and you can see it. He won the tournament last week – the week before Wimbledon – and now the quarter-finals, winning already in a Masters 1000, he's in a very high position in the race already."
"We're in a quarter-final, so you can't expect an easy opponent."
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Watch daily highlights from Wimbledon at 10pm on Eurosport 2 and discovery+ from June 27, as well as the two singles finals live on July 9 and 10.
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