MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) 鈥 This is hardly the first time Rafael Nadal鈥檚 body has betrayed him. That much we know. What no one 鈥 not even the 22-time Grand Slam champion himself 鈥 can possibly pinpoint accurately is what comes next.
First things first: on Thursday showed that Nadal injured his left hip flexor during a 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 loss to 65th-ranked Mackenzie McDonald in the second round a day earlier. And he is expected to need up to eight weeks for a full recovery.
What no tests can reveal, what no doctor can determine, is perhaps the most vital question of all: How much more of this sort of thing is he willing to put up with?
鈥淚 went through this process too many times in my career and I am ready to keep doing (it), I think,鈥 Nadal said Wednesday after his earliest exit from a major tournament in seven years, 鈥渂ut that鈥檚 not easy, without a doubt.鈥
It is only natural that folks will wonder what this all means for his future, especially with the retirements of still top of mind.
Nadal turns 37 in 4 1/2 months. The wear and tear produced by his punishing brand of play-each-point-as-if-it-might-be-the-last is undeniable. So, perhaps, is the psychological toll of the work it takes to be able to compete at the level to which he has grown accustomed.
鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 frustrating. Sometimes it鈥檚 difficult to accept,鈥 a downcast Nadal said. 鈥淪ometimes you feel super tired about all this stuff, in terms of injuries.鈥
Over the past 12 months alone, he has been troubled by damaged rib cartilage ... and by chronic pain in his left foot that was dulled via nerve-numbing injections ... and by a torn abdominal muscle that forced him to pull out of Wimbledon.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough moment. It鈥檚 a tough day,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 say that I am not destroyed mentally at this moment, because I would be lying.鈥
Nadal explained that his left hip was so bad Wednesday, he couldn鈥檛 hit a backhand or run much at all. He considered quitting but played on because he was the reigning champion.
Nadal also was seeded No. 1 , because top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz is out with a leg injury. (As an aside: All of the absences, for various reasons, are staggering: Naomi Osaka, Ash Barty, Simona Halep, Venus Williams, .)
McDonald, a 27-year-old American who won NCAA singles and doubles titles for UCLA in 2016, claimed only four total games during a loss to Nadal the other time they played, nearly 2 1/2 years ago.
McDonald said his emotions Wednesday after the biggest victory of his career were 鈥渁 little more flat and stale than I thought they would be.鈥
Why? 鈥淏ecause,鈥 McDonald said, 鈥渙f the circumstances.鈥
This was not a Nadal at the height of his powers.
He has won two of his last nine matches, dating to a fourth-round loss to Frances Tiafoe at the U.S. Open in September.
鈥淚 definitely thought it was an opportunity. ... He seems a step slow,鈥 McDonald said. 鈥淟ook, he鈥檚 doing his best. I mean, he鈥檚 a great champion. He鈥檚 trying to make the most of what he can do. He鈥檚 (almost) 37 out here. His body鈥檚 not what it used to be, I鈥檓 sure. I definitely think now is the best time to be playing him.鈥
With so much unknown right now, Nadal offered a bit of insight when he was asked what motivates him to do what's required to keep returning from injury.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very simple thing: I like what I do. I like playing tennis. I know it鈥檚 not forever. ... I like to fight for the things that I have been fighting for almost half of my life or even more," Nadal said. "When you do things that you like to do, at the end of the day, it鈥檚 not a sacrifice. You are doing the things that you want to do.鈥
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Write to him at hfendrich@ap.org or follow him on Twitter at
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