20-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal talked about dealing with his persistent injuries, saying that he sets time frames for himself.
Nadal made it to the Round of 16 at the Australian Open after defeating Karen Khachanov in a near three-hour match. He prevailed 6-3 6-2 2-6 6-1 over his opponent, making it eight out of eight victories against him.
It was a good return to form for the Spaniard, who had been struggling with injuries for a long time. However, now he is well and truly back, and has been earmarked as a potential dark horse to take the tournament.
Nadal talked about dealing with his persistent injuries, saying that if you know the recovery dates, it becomes that much easier.
As quoted by Tennis World USA, when asked if he was missing tennis during his time off, Nadal said, “Every single day.
“For a lot of months, sometimes I went on court with the team and was not able to practice for 20 minutes, nowadays for 45 minutes, and then sometimes I was able to practice for two hours.
“It was very difficult to predict every single day and I was working with the doctor, trying to find a solution.”
Rest and recovery
“I was trying different things, it is tough,” the former World No. 1 continued.
“Even though I went through that process a couple of times in my career, I always say the same.
“The injuries are much easier to accept when you know that you have a calendar. Now, if you twist your ankle or break your wrist; I did a couple of times in my career, then you know it will be three months.
“You have an agenda and every week, you do a different thing. But with injuries, honestly, it’s much tougher now because every day, you go to the gym and to the court and without improvement, mentally it’s much tougher,” he concluded.
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