Rafael Nadal vows to keep fighting after injury ruins his US Open semi-final
- Published
Rafael Nadal was struck with injury at the start of the second set in his semi-final against Juan Martin del Potro
2018 US Open |
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Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 27 August-9 September |
Coverage: Live radio commentaries on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and text updates on the BBC Sport website. |
World number one Rafael Nadal says he "will keep fighting and working hard" after he was forced to retire from his US Open semi-final against Juan Martin del Potro because of a knee injury.
The three-time champion retired at the end of the second set with Del Potro leading 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 on Arthur Ashe.
"I will keep going. That is all," Nadal said in a post-match press conference.
"These moments are tough but I have to keep going and working hard to get more opportunities."
Nadal has reached four Grand Slam finals in the last two years - winning the US Open in 2017 and back-to-back French Open titles in 2017 and 2018.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion also reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open this year, as well as the semi-finals at Wimbledon.
"I am having two great years so I just have to enjoy the moments. This year has been fantastic until this moment," he added.
"I am playing the right way and enjoying things. I am having success at the age of 32. A lot of people in this room, including me, didn't think I would be at this level at this age.
"I still have a passion for the game so I will keep fighting and working hard."
Nadal, who will also miss Spain's Davis Cup semi-final against France next weekend, said he "hated retiring" but was in "too much pain" to continue the defence of his US Open title.
The Spaniard has suffered from tendonitis in his knee in the past and spent eight months away from tennis between 2012 and 2013.
He missed around three months in 2014 and 2016 because of difficulties with wrist injuries and appendicitis.
"All my career everybody said that because of my style, I will have a short career," he added. "But I'm still here."
Experience is key to recovery - Nadal
Rafael Nadal was on court for around 16 hours throughout the US Open before his retirement in the semi-final
The world number one doesn't expect to be out for long and claims his team are "experienced" at dealing with his knee injuries.
"I cannot compare the knee with other times as the pain is always very similar. This time it was a little bit more aggressive with my movement," said Nadal.
"I don't know what can happen in a couple of days or a couple of weeks. Mentally it is much worse. I know what I have. It is a similar thing to always so it is about good treatment.
"It is not an injury that tells you, 'three weeks off, you are back. Six months off you are back.' I know what I have to do to be better as soon as possible. I am sure it will not be six months off of course, I was just making a comparison."
Analysis
BBC Sport tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
Nadal hates retiring but - as he said - there was only one player playing come the end of the second set.
There was no way back: not just because of the knee, but because of the way Del Potro was, and has been, playing. Close to abandoning his career in 2015, after a sequence of unsuccessful wrist surgeries, no-one is more deserving of a place in the US Open final.
Nadal's cruel luck with injury continues, and who knows whether we will see him again this year?
But at 32, and having spent countless weeks and months on the physio's couch, it was reassuring to see him walk straight into the interview room and look to the future.
He says he still has the appetite for rehab, and most definitely for more Grand Slam titles.