Credit: X
Spain tennis wizard Rafael Nadal opened up on the period of his injury layoff and revealed that he thought of retiring from the sport. Nadal, who was out of sporting action for around 12 months, made his comeback in the pre-Australian Open tournament, Brisbane International on December 31, Sunday. The 22-time Grand Slam winner teamed up with compatriot Marc Lopez in the men’s doubles.
While the Spanish star would have wanted a favourable comeback, he and Lopez were outmatched by the Australian duo of Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson, who won 6-4, 6-4 in just 73 minutes. After the match, the Spaniard opened up on his injury layoff and revealed that the thought of retirement crossed his mind.
Nadal told the press, "If I thought about retirement during that period of time, of course, yes. I went through a lot of things [that were] pretty bad. "I did not miss the competition, because all this time my body was not ready to compete. What I missed was to be healthy; to wake up and not have pain. At some point I decided to keep going. Then I just began working day by day without thinking much and doing the things I have to do.
He added, “It's impossible to think about winning tournaments today. What's really possible is to enjoy the comeback. I don't expect much -- one year without being on the court." Nadal will now face the 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem in men’s singles on January 2, Tuesday.
