"A little bit more scared than usual" - Rafael Nadal gives his assessment of hip injury sustained during Brisbane loss
Rafael Nadal has admitted that he was a bit concerned after injuring his hip during his Brisbane International quarterfinal loss to Jordan Thompson on Friday.
Nadal, 37, was making his comeback at the ATP 250 tournament after a near year-long injury. The tennis legend had injured his hip in his Australian Open second-round loss to Mackenzie McDonald last year, which necessitated surgery.
Following multiple setbacks in his rehab, Nadal made a near-perfect return in Brisbane. He defeated Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler in the first two rounds before meeting his match in Thompson.
However, the Spaniard would rue squandering three match points in the second set, which he lost in a tiebreak. Rafael Nadal took a medical timeout at 4-1 down in the third set after seemingly injuring his hip before returning to the court but failed to stave off defeat, as he went down 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-3.
In his post-match press conference, Nadal admitted feeling a bit concerned, as he had suffered a similar injury last year:
"Yeah, is a very similar place to what happened last year, but different stuff, no? I feel more muscle. Last year was tendon. I feel the muscle tired. I mean, for sure is not the same like last year at all because when it happened last year, I felt something drastic immediately.
"Today, I didn't feel anything. The only problem is because the place is the same, you are a little bit more scared than usual. In ideal world, I mean, is just the muscle supercharged after a few days of effort and a very tough match."
Hoping that it's not a serious injury and is only a 'supercharged' muscle, he continued:
"A lot of things can be happening in a body like my body after a year without playing tennis. So hopefully is just that, just a muscle that is supercharged. (It) is a normal process on that. If that's the thing, everything (is) perfect.
"I really hope if the feeling on that leg is better and better tomorrow and after tomorrow; then, it's perfect news. If not, as I said, we're going to do test, and let's see."
If his injury isn't serious, Nadal is expected to next feature in the Australian Open, which starts in Melbourne on January 14.
"To beat Rafael Nadal at home, I couldn't be happier" - Jordan Thompson after beating Spaniard in Brisbane
Jordan Thompson is understandably over the moon after beating former World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the Brisbane quarterfinals.
In his on-court interview, the Australian, who notched up his first win over Nadal in three attempts, said that he forgot about the saved matchpoints earlier in the contest.
“I completely forgot I saved match points,” Thompson said (as per ATP). “To beat Rafa at home, in Brisbane in a quarterfinal. I think it’s my first semifinal on a hardcourt as well. I couldn’t be happier.”
Following his three-hour 25-minute victory, Thompson will take on Grigor Dimitrov for a place in the final.